Abstract
BackgroundThe presence and quality of social ties can influence suicide risk. In adulthood, the most common provider of such ties is one’s partner. As such, the link between marital status and suicide is well-documented, with lower suicide risk among married. However, the association between marital status and educational level suggest that marriage is becoming a privilege of the better educated. The relationship between educational attainment and suicide is somewhat ambiguous, although several studies argue that there is higher suicide risk among the less educated. This means that unmarried with low education may concurrently experience several risk factors for suicide. However, in many cases, these associations apply to men only, making it unclear whether they also refer to women. We aim to investigate the association between marital status, educational attainment, and suicide risk, and whether these associations differ across sexes.MethodsOur data consist of Norwegian residents aged 35–54, between 1975 and 2014. Using personal identification-numbers, we linked information from various registers, and applied event history analysis to estimate suicide risk, and predicted probabilities for comparisons across sexes.ResultsOverall, associations across sexes are quite similar, thus contradicting several previous studies. Married men and women have lower suicide risk than unmarried, and divorced and separated have significant higher odds of suicide than never married, regardless of sex. Low educational attainment inflates the risk for both sexes, but high educational attainment is only associated with lower risk among men. Being a parent is associated with lower suicide risk for both sexes.ConclusionsHigher suicide risk among the divorced and separated points to suicide risk being associated with ceasing of social ties. This is the case for both sexes, and especially those with low educational attainment, which both healthcare professionals and people in general should be aware of in order to promote suicide prevention.
Highlights
The presence and quality of social ties can influence suicide risk
Durkheim investigated variations in social integration and its link to suicide mortality as early as 1897 [2], including the association between marital status and suicide rates. He argued that the reason for lower suicide risk among the married is that marriages provides stability, emotional support, and social integration, while separation, divorce, and widowhood rather promote social isolation [2]
It is well-known that marital status and educational attainment is strongly affiliated, it is unclear how this association in turn relates to suicide risk, and whether there are differences according to sex. This narrows the knowledge gap on suicide risk both because we investigate the interaction between marital status and educational attainment and obtain sex-specific results
Summary
The presence and quality of social ties can influence suicide risk. In adulthood, the most common provider of such ties is one’s partner. Durkheim investigated variations in social integration and its link to suicide mortality as early as 1897 [2], including the association between marital status and suicide rates He argued that the reason for lower suicide risk among the married is that marriages provides stability, emotional support, and social integration, while separation, divorce, and widowhood rather promote social isolation [2]. In addition to a selection into marriage, there is seemingly an educational selection out of marriage as well [13], making the better-educated less likely to experience marriage dissolution It is currently unestablished how the relationship between marital status and educational attainment together may affect suicide risk
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