Male Suicide Rates Research Articles

Does the Level of Divorce or Religiosity Make a Difference? Cross-National Suicide Rates in 21 Developed Countries, 1955-1994

Durkheim found that, not only do divorce rates significantly impact suicide rates in different countries, but the level of divorce has significant impacts on suicide rates. He further argues that the level of divorce has differential impacts on male and female suicide rates. Current research also suggests that the level of religiosity impacts suicide rates. Using data from 21 developed countries from 1955 to 1994, male and female age-standardized suicide rates are examined in light of the level of divorce and religiosity. Results show that the level of divorce differentially impacts the association between divorce rates and female suicide rates while the level of religiosity differentially impacts the association between religious book production and male suicide rates. Alterations in Durkheim's theory of suicide are needed to account for cross-national suicide rates over the past several decades.

Parasuicide and suicide in the south-west of Ireland

Suicide is a final act for which the survivors (family, friends, and professionals who have treated the victim) have no answers. Rates of suicide have risen throughout Europe in the last 50 years, and a recent alarming trend has been the increase in young male suicide. In recent years in Ireland, suicide has become the principal cause of death in men aged 15 to 34 years, and like other European countries, Irish rates show marked gender differences. This is outlined in the paper ‘Parasuicide and suicide in the south-west of Ireland’ published in this issue, in which the male suicide rate was 22.7 per 100,000 compared to a female rate of 5.5 per 100,000, a ratio of 4:1. The suicide rates for males in the 20to 34year age brackets were almost twice the overall rate recorded for males. What are the reasons for the increase in the number of young men who choose to end their lives through suicide? Dr Michael Kelleher (to whom the authors dedicate their paper) discussed factors which might have contributed to this increase. He included an increased prevalence of mood disorder and the use of illicit drugs among the possibilities. The contribution of ‘anomie’ — social fragmentation — has also been highlighted, and some measure of this can be made from indices such as population turnover, proportion of single person households, proportion of unmarried adults and proportion of persons in private rented accommodation. Dr Kelleher also comments on the tendency towards the exclusion of males from the family unit, and the negative effects this may have on male role models for adolescents. In a national review of suicide in Ireland, almost one-third of the men who committed suicide were unemployed compared with a national unemployment rate of 10%, and marriage appeared to have a strong protective effect. Unemployment, retirement, being single and sickness absence were significant risk factors for suicide in a recent national Danish review and appeared to be particularly important in suicide by males. However, mental illness was the predominant risk factor for suicide in both the Danish and the Irish studies especially depression. The results of a systematic review of psychological autopsy studies confirm that the variable most strongly associated with suicide is mental disorder, with median rates of illness of 90% and 91% for case series and case control studies respectively. Co-morbid substance abuse was also important. A previous history of deliberate self-harm and recent hospital inpatient psychiatric treatment were significantly associated with suicide in the Irish review, and the authors commented on the role of alcohol use and abuse. Assessing suicide risk among patients who present with parasuicide poses a major challenge to GPs, AE strategies to combat alcohol and drug problems (both at policy and educational levels); enhancing access to mental health services; ensuring assessment and follow-up of suicide attempts; training of healthcare workers, teachers, police and prison staff; promotion of self-esteem and mutual respect by programmes such as schools’ Social and Personal Health Education Programme; and efforts to reduce alienation, especially of young men. The media has an important role in its treatment of suicide deaths by limiting details, by emphasising the enormous negative effects on relatives, and the possible disabling effects of suicide attempts, and by providing information on helplines and counselling. ‘Aware’ argue for a broad, holistic approach to suicide prevention, including tackling the illnesses which are the antecedents of suicide. The recommendations of the National Task Force on Suicide, include the full implementation of ‘Planning for the Future’, with the provision of an extensive network of community-based psychiatric services, bringing specialised multidisciplinary psychiatric teams within easy reach, and with ease of access. This will require the proper funding and

Adolescent suicide in Hong Kong during 1980-2000.

Analyses of adolescent suicide statistics in Hong Kong for the period 1980 to 2000 revealed several phenomena. First, while adolescent suicide rates (10-24 age group) in Hong Kong were relatively stable for the period under study, there was a gradual rising trend where adolescent suicide rates in the 1990s were higher than those in the 1980s. Second, suicide rates for adolescents aged 10-24 were lower than those of other adult age groups. Third, while adolescent suicide rates in Hong Kong were lower than those reported in some English-speaking countries and Mainland China, the figures were higher than those reported in Taiwan. Fourth, suicide rates among teenagers in early adolescence were lower than those among adolescents in late adolescence. Fifth, although male adolescent suicide rates were in general higher than female adolescent suicide rates (10-24 age group), gender differences in suicide rates appeared to be moderated by age. Sixth, there was a gradual rising trend in adolescent proportional mortality rates for suicide in the 1990s. Seventh, proportional mortality rates for suicide among teenagers in early adolescence were lower than those among adolescents in late adolescence. Finally, while jumping from a height was a common method of adolescent suicide, there was a rising trend of using other methods such as taking drugs, hanging and charcoal burning. The observed adolescent suicide phenomena are discussed with reference to the socio-cultural context of Hong Kong.

Female equality and suicide in the Indian states.

Indian suicide rates rose by 76% in the 10 years between 1984 and 1994. In this study of the 16 principal states of India, male and female suicide rates in 1994 were associated with measures of equal education for men and women. Male suicide rates were associated with equal life expectancy for men and women. Equal income for women and men was not associated with suicide rates. Unlike earlier studies, no inverse association was found between equal attainment in education and suicide sex ratios. The Indian findings thus do not conform to patterns found in more developed economies. Given increasing human development in India, it seems probable that suicide rates in that country may increase two to three times over coming decades.

Suicide in murderers in England and Wales.

In England and Wales, the suicide rate of murderers was positively associated with the male suicide rate in the general population, and both of these rates were positively associated with the unemployment rate.

Trends in hanging and firearm suicide rates in Australia: substitution of method?

This study examined the increase in the rate of suicide by hanging and an apparently simultaneous decrease in the rate of suicide by firearm as hypothetical evidence that Australian males have substituted one method of suicide for another. Trends in hanging and firearm suicide rates were examined from 1975 to 1998 for all Australian males and from 1971 to 1998 for a subset of Australian male youth, as well as a group of Australian males aged over 64 years at the time of their death. When the firearm suicide rate for Australian males declined the hanging rate increased simultaneously, with no statistical difference in the rate of change of the two methods. A similar pattern of simultaneous divergence in hanging and firearm suicide rates of a 15- to 24-year-old subgroup occurred at a not dissimilar rate over a longer time period. Rates of suicide by hanging were found to have begun increasing prior to the decline in firearm suicide. The declining rate of firearm suicide in the 15- to 24-year-old subgroup coincided with an increase in the overall suicide rate. Relationships between trends in hanging and firearm suicide differed between states and between urban and non-urban areas within Queensland, with the firearm suicide rate falling more rapidly in urban areas, especially following the introductions of restrictions to weapon purchases. Individual suicide method choice may be related to independent changes in the social acceptability of each method, as well as to an increasing prevalence of suicide in younger males, who are more likely to use the hanging method. The functioning and effect of social acceptability remains unclear, however. Intervention and prevention strategies should focus on challenging the social acceptability of hanging, especially among males aged 15 to 24 years.

Adolescent self-poisoning: a cohort study of subsequent suicide and premature deaths.

Previous self-harm has been identified as a risk factor for subsequent suicide by adolescents. The objective of the study was to identify further risk factors for subsequent premature death and suicide in a population of adolescents presenting with self-poisoning. A longitudinal cohort design using data-linkage of consecutive adolescent patients presenting to the Hunter Area Toxicology Service, a regional toxicology service for Newcastle, Australia, with the National Death Index of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare was used. A total of 441 adolescents aged 10 to 19 years presented with self-poisoning over 5 years from January 1991 to December 1995, with follow-up to March 2001. There were 14 deaths total, eight of which were likely suicides. There was a 22-fold increase in suicide rate for males and a 14-fold increase for females compared with age-normalized population rates. Adjusted hazard ratios (95% CI) forpremature death were male gender 3.77 (1.11-12.78), nonaffective psychotic disorders 16.3 (3.83-69.34) and the mental illnesses of childhood 6.12 (1.68-22.23). There was a similar pattern for suicide: Male gender, nonaffective psychotic disorders, and the mental illnesses of childhood confer greater risk for subsequent suicide or premature death in this population.

Influence of cohort effects on patterns of suicide in England and Wales, 1950-1999.

Age- and gender-specific suicide rates in England and Wales have changed considerably since 1950. To assess whether cohort effects underlie some of these changes. Graphical displays to assess age-period-cohort effects on suicide for the period 1950-1999. Successive male birth cohorts born after 1940 carried with them, as they aged, a greater risk of suicide than their predecessors although this effect diminished for the 1975 and 1980 birth cohorts. There was less clear evidence of any increased risk of suicide in post-war female birth cohorts. Succeeding generations of males born in the post-war years have experienced increasing rates of suicide at all ages, an observation in keeping with patterns seen in other countries. If these trends continue into middle- and old-age they will lead to a great increase in overall male suicide rates.

FEMALE EQUALITY AND SUICIDE IN THE INDIAN STATES

Indian suicide rates rose by 76% in the 10 years between 1984 and 1994. In this study of the 16 principal states of India, male and female suicide rates in 1994 were associated with measures of equal education for men and women. Male suicide rates were associated with equal life expectancy for men and women. Equal income for women and men was not associated with suicide rates. Unlike earlier studies, no inverse association was found between equal attainment in education and suicide sex ratios. The Indian findings thus do not conform to patterns found in more developed economies. Given increasing human development in India, it seems probable that suicide rates in that country may increase two to three times over coming decades.

PERCEIVED INCOME INEQUALITY AND SUICIDE RATES IN CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AND WESTERN COUNTRIES, 1990-1993

Sociological studies on cross-national male and female suicide rates have found numerous factors related to variation in suicide rates. The present study focuses on how perceived differences in income inequality impact suicide rates in 12 different countries, unlike most prior studies on income inequality and suicide that use measures of actual income inequality.Using G. Jasso's (1999) index on perceived income inequality, the author found that perceived income inequality is related more strongly and more consistently to male suicide rates than female suicide rates. Relative to other variables used in this analysis,perceived income inequality also accounts for most of the difference in the gender gap of male versus female suicide rates.

Age, labour market conditions and male suicide rates in selected countries

This study examined the relationship between suicide rates among men since 1975 and rates of unemployment and labour force participation in 20 countries. Previous research has found statistically significant correlations between suicide and unemployment rates over time among young people in a number of countries. This study has extended this research to include different age groups of men. The findings for younger workers largely confirm the findings of previous studies. Among older workers, however, unemployment and suicide rates are largely unrelated, notable exceptions including Japan and the USA. The implications of this finding for policy making towards older workers are discussed.

Indian Suicide and Marriage: A Research Note

INTRODUCTION Among the propositions so thoroughly confirmed that they may claim the status of sociological laws is that which states that marriage tends to 'protect' individuals from suicide. Durkheim noted that married people over 20 of both sexes - whose social integration was relatively higher - were very much less likely to commit suicide (Durkheim, 1979). Durkheim's findings have been replicated in many subsequent studies. In an examination of United States suicides in 1940 Henry and Short (Henry & Short, 1954) found rates for married persons were lower than for others in the same age group. Divorce has the opposite effect. Breault (1986, cited in Lester, 1989) who examined the effects of church membership, divorce and inter-region migration on the suicide rates of the American states at different times during the period of 1933 to 1980, found that suicide rates were higher where divorce rates were higher. Many suicide studies of Western populations indicate a pattern of higher suicide rates at older ages, often following the death of or separation from a partner, with males exceeding females (Booth, 1999). In a study of suicide in Singapore, Hassan (1983: 5460) found that marriage provides considerable immunity against suicide and that, on average, divorce and widowhood provide least protection. Married people in Australia were also found to be less likely to commit suicide (Hassan, 1995). Ruzicka and Choi (Ruzicka & Choi, 1993: 108) summarize the marriage law in unqualified terms: In all societies for which there are statistics available, suicide mortality has been considerably higher among those who are not married than among those who are married. It is important to note that most of the literature on suicidal behavior is based on data obtained from developed Western countries (Latha et al., 1996). The impact of marital status on suicide in developing countries has received little attention. This is especially true of India where the relationship between marital status and suicide does not appear to have received systematic examination. Suicide is a growing problem in India, one whose seriousness is rarely acknowledged by policy-makers. In 1995, 89,178 suicides were recorded for the whole of India. Between 1985 and 1995 the official suicide rate for the country as a whole rose from 6.8 to 9.9 per 100,000, an increase of 69% (National Crime Records Bureau, 1997). A number of the Indian states, especially those in South India and West Bengal have suicide rates, which are high by world standards. The Union Territory of Pondicherry, for example, had a suicide rate in 1995 of 68.5 per 100,000. Kerala had a suicide rate of 25.9 and Tamil Nadu 15.0 per 100,000 (National Crime Records Bureau, 1997). The present paper explores the impact on suicide rates of gender and marital status in India. It was hypothesized on the basis of established findings elsewhere that suicide rates for those who are married would be lower than for all other marital categories. It was also predicted that - with two significant exceptions - for all marital categories, male suicide rates would be higher than female rates. The predicted exceptions were for suicides by widows and widowers and for those who were divorced. Because of the traditional stigmatization of widows, it was hypothesized that their suicide rates would be higher than those of widowers. It was also predicted that the social disapproval of divorce in Indian society would result in higher suicide rates for divorced women than for men. METHOD Our data are official suicide statistics provided by India's National Crime Records Bureau. The use of official statistics has been attacked by Douglas (1967) and Baechler (1975, cited in Danigelis & Pope, 1979) on the grounds that their validity is undermined by systematic variations between nations in the meanings of suicide. Their rejection of official statistics has, however, not found general acceptance. …

Age, period and cohort effects on suicide rates in Australia, 1919-1999.

To examine age, period and cohort effects on Australian suicide rates. Male suicide rates for successive 5-year periods between 1919 and 1998, and for 1999 were displayed graphically to examine interactions between age, period and cohort effects. There has been a pronounced period effect on male suicide rates in all age groups over the last few decades, with lower rates in wartime and peak rates for most cohorts in the 1960s. Peak rates of all adult female 5-year age cohorts occurred in the 1960s or early 1970s. Most so-called cohort effects appear to be associated with environmental changes that may not be a function of the cohort itself. While much attention has focused on the rising suicide rates in young males in Australia, local media and health authorities have given little emphasis to the high rates found in elderly males.

Suicide in Australian farming, 1988-1997.

To identify and describe suicide data for occupational classifications relating to farm managers and agricultural labourers for Australia for the period 1988 to 1997, and to relate resultant suicide rates to farmers' terms of trade. Descriptive and linear regression analysis of aggregated mortality data. In the period 1988 to 1997, 921 suicides were identified. The majority of these suicides were farm managers (67.4%). Farm manager suicides occurred predominantly in older age groups (55 + years). In comparison agricultural labourer suicides were younger, with the majority of suicides occurring in the 15-39 years age group. The most common methods for both groups were firearms (particularly hunting rifles and shot guns), hanging and motor vehicle exhaust gas. These methods accounted for approximately 81% of all male farm suicides. Firearms accounted for 51% of male farm suicide, in comparison to 23% for the wider Australian male population for the same period. Estimated age standardized rates per 100 000 for male farm managers for the 10-year period ranged from 24.8 to 51.4. For male agricultural labourers these rates ranged from 23.5 to 41.9. Analyses also revealed a negative correlation (r = -0.75, p < 0.01) between farm manager suicide rates and farmers' terms of trade. Male farm manager and agricultural labourer suicide rates are higher than male national rates and rates in the wider rural population, particularly in the later years of the period investigated. Firearms prefigure as the most common method of suicide, despite decreases in this method in the wider rural population. Establishing more accurate denominator data for the farming community is a priority, as is preventative action that accounts for unique aspects of farm life.

Recent Developments Concerning Men's Health in Australia

The term men's health has become part of mainstream health lexicon in Australia, yet in terms of policy and programs the field is still very much an emergent one. Despite obvious need (the high rates of male suicide illustrate this), there is no national men's health policy, little consensus on research priorities or an agenda, and minimal public funding. The Moving Forward in Men's Health Statement of the NSW Department of Health provides a landmark, a guiding framework for men's health for public agencies in the state. No other government presently has a specific men's health policy or funding program. Despite the release of an independent report in 1999 by the Federal Health Department, there is no broad agreement amongst stakeholders about a men's health research agenda. There is a pressing need to encourage discussion of what is health enhancing about men's and boys' lives in their various environments. The paper proposes a social population health approach, which adopts a salutogenic (life-enhancing) perspective, encouraging environments for men and boys that build good health.

Differences in Irish Urban and Rural Suicide Rates, 1976–1994

The recent rise in the Irish suicide rate is a male phenomenon. The present paper calculates urban and rural suicide rates for Ireland and looks at some possible explanatory variables for the differences observed. Irish suicide and undetermined death rates, age-adjusted to the European Standard Population, are calculated for the years 1976 to 1994 to determine if there are any discernible trends between urban and rural areas. Possible associated factors are then examined, including the distribution of psychiatric illness using the National Psychiatric In-Patient Reporting Scheme. Between 1980 and 1990, the Irish rural male suicide rate rose by 50% while there was no increase in the male urban rate. The most radical increases have occurred in the young and elderly rural males. A. t the start of the study period, the urban female suicide rate was higher than the rural rate but the two rates have been almost identical since 1985. Some factors associated with suicide were examined but failed to provide sufficient explanation for the difference in rates. Further research is needed to clarify the reasons for these differences and to monitor ongoing trends.

The Age Structure of Male Suicide Rates: Measurement and Analysis of 20 Developed Countries, 1955–1994

Publication of 19th-century age- and gender-specific suicide rates (Morselli, 1882, Table XXIX) and similar 20th-century suicide rates (World Health Organization 1956, Table 4) invited comparative study of the age structures of suicide, but Girard's 1993 article was the first detailed effort to construct a measure of age structure that would allow systematic comparative analysis of cross-national data. We replaced Girard's qualitative typology with a quantitative measure of age structures. We then tested the theory that economic development is a key to understanding the age structure of suicide. We found no difference between these structures around 1850 and those in industrialized countries more than a century later. Differences between the male age structure of suicide in the United States and the other 19 developed countries in the 1955–1994 period were measured. We also found that change in the age structure in each country between 1955–1964 and 1985–1994 was statistically significant in 19 of the 20 countries. Over this period the share of total suicides to men ages 15–44 increased in nearly all countries, while the share to men 45–74 declined. Regression analysis using measures of societal integration, the culture of suicide, and the 1955–1964 suicide rate successfully predicted the 1985–1994 age structure in 18 of 20 countries.

Cultural correlates of youth suicide

Youth suicide has risen in most developed nations over the past 50 years, especially among males, but the increase remains to be explained. Statistical analyses were used to examine associations between youth suicide rates in 11–21 mainly Western, developed nations and 32 socio-economic and cultural variables. The central hypothesis was that suicide rates would be correlated with various cultural measures of social attachment and integration, especially individualism. Socio-economic variables were included in the analysis to demonstrate the relative strength of the cultural associations. The study found a strong positive correlation between male youth suicide rates and subjective measures of health, optimism, and several indices of individualism, including personal freedom and control. Correlations between female youth suicide and individualism were smaller, attaining significance in only one instance. Male youth suicide and individualism were negatively correlated with older people's sense of parental duty. Correlations between suicide and other possibly relevant cultural variables—tolerance of suicide, belief in God and national pride—were not significant. The analysis of socio-economic variables yielded only one significant, but doubtful, correlation. The findings can be interpreted as supporting two very different hypotheses: that youth suicide represents “an island of misery in an ocean of happiness” or “the tip of an iceberg of suffering”. In favouring the latter interpretation, and consistent with Durkheim's theories on suicide, it is argued that increased youth suicide reflects a failure of Western societies to provide appropriate sites or sources of social identity and attachment, and, conversely, a tendency to promote unrealistic or inappropriate expectations of individual freedom and autonomy.

Economic reform and mortality in the former Soviet Union: A study of the suicide epidemic in the 1990s

Male suicide rates in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and the Baltic countries increased substantially in the early 1990s and are now the highest in the world. To what extent is this suicide epidemic explained by the macroeconomic instability experienced by these countries in that period? Fixed effects regressions across 22 transition economies indicate that male suicide rates are highly sensitive to the state of the macroeconomy, suggesting that the steep and prolonged declines in GDP in the western countries of the former Soviet Union may have been partly to blame for the suicide epidemic. Evidence also indicates that the general adult male mortality crisis in the region had a ‘feedback’ effect on suicide rates, with the loss of a spouse or friend – or declining life expectancy itself – contributing to rising suicide rates. Female suicide rates, in contrast, are insensitive to the state of the macroeconomy and are more strongly related to alcohol consumption.

Attitudinal and Structural Predictors of the Gender Gap in Suicide: An Exploratory Analysis of Nine European Countries, 1975–1987

Following Hagan, Gillis, and Simpson (1985), Hagan, Simpson, and Gillis (1987), and Girard (1993), we introduce a measure of egalitarian political attitudes that reflect gender differences in socialization that may affect adult suicidal behavior. Past efforts to explain national differences in the gender gap in suicide rates have not determined how the different determinants of male and female suicide rates cause the gender gap to vary among nations. We present a methodology that allows one to measure, one at a time, the impact of multiple predictors of societal integration on the gender gap. Data from nine European countries are used to illustrate this methodology.