Variance In Suicide Rates Research Articles

Suicides as a response to adverse market sentiment (1980-2016).

Financial crises inflict significant human as well as economic hardship. This paper focuses on the human fallout of capital market stress. Financial stress-induced behavioral changes can manifest in higher suicide and murder-suicide rates. We find that these rates also correlate with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate (negatively associated; a -0.25% drop [in the rate of change in annual suicides for a +1% change in the independent variable]), unemployment rate (positive link; 0.298% increase), inflation rate (positive link; 0.169% increase in suicide rate levels) and stock market returns adjusted for the risk-free T-Bill rate (negative link; -0.047% drop). Suicides tend to rise during periods of economic turmoil, such as the recent Great Recession of 2008. An analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data of more than 2 million non-natural deaths in the US since 1980 reveals a positive correlation with unemployment levels. We find that suicides and murder-suicides associated with adverse market sentiment lag the initial stressor by up to two years, thus opening a policy window for government/public health intervention to reduce these negative outcomes. Both our models explain about 73 to 76% of the variance in suicide rates and rate of change in suicide rates, and deploy a total of four widely available independent variables (lagged and/or transformed). The results are invariant to the inclusion/exclusion of 2008 data over the 1980–2016 time series, the period of our study. The disconnect between rational decision making, induced by cognitive dissonance and severe financial stress can lead to suboptimal outcomes, not only in the area of investing, but in a direct loss of human capital. No economic system can afford such losses. Finance journal articles focus on monetary alpha, which is the return on a portfolio in excess of the benchmark; we think it is important to be aware of the loss of human capital as a consequence of market instability. This study makes one such an attempt.

Suicide, Big Five Personality Factors, and Depression at the American State Level

The research determined the relation of the 2004–2005 American state suicide rates to state means on neuroticism, agreeableness, extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness as assessed by Rentfrow, Gosling, and Potter (2008). Multiple regression strategies were used to analyze relations between state suicide rates and state personality means with state socioeconomic status, White population percent, urban population percent, and depression rates controlled. Multiple regression analysis showed that neuroticism accounted for 32.0% and agreeableness another 16.3% of the variance in suicide rates when demographics and depression were controlled. Lower neuroticism and lower agreeableness were associated with higher suicide rates. Lower neuroticism and lower agreeableness may be important risk factors for completed suicide but not suicidal ideation or attempted suicide.

Suicide Rates in the World: 1950–2004

The cross-country differences and the trends of suicide rates in 71 countries from 1950 to 2004 are described. The data are from the World Health Organization's Mortality Database. It shows that suicide rates vary greatly across countries, even within the same region or at similar levels of development. Random-effect models were used to examine the between-country and within-country stabilities in suicide rates. The results show that more than 90% of the variance in suicide rates is due to between-country differences, suggesting suicide rates display a strong temporal stability.

Testing the Finno-Ugrian Suicide Hypothesis: Geographic variation of elderly suicide rates across Europe

The pattern of geographic variation in European suicide rates in the high-risk group of individuals aged 65years and over was investigated, in order to provide a further test of the Finno-Ugrian Suicide Hypothesis, i.e. the assumption that genetic differences between populations may partially account for spatial differences seen in the suicide prevalence. National suicide rates (average of 1970–2002) of the elderly from 34 European countries were regressed on geographic position terms, i.e. capital cities’ latitude and longitude, along with transformations (e.g. squared latitude) and interaction terms (e.g. latitude multiplied with longitude) of these, which statistically modeled various possible geographic gradients in the suicide rates. In these regression models, the strongest and statistically significant predictor of elderly suicide rates was an interaction term of squared latitude multiplied with longitude, indicating that suicide rates increased to the northeast. This accounted for 13.8% (total), 20.8% (males) and 11.6% (females) of the cross-national variance in elderly suicide rates. No further geographic position term accounted for a significant increment of further variance in suicide rates over and above this predictor. Controls for national quality of living conditions and alcohol consumption rates left these results essentially unchanged. Replicating previous evidence based on suicide rates of the general population, suicide rates of the elderly show a northeastern gradient across Europe. This J-shaped belt of high-suicide-rate countries spans from Central Europe (Austria, Hungary and Slovenia) to Northeastern Europe (Finland and the Baltic countries). There are early historical and genetic communalities among the populations inhabiting this area, but, in terms of culture, recent history, political systems and socioeconomic factors, there is great diversity between these countries. The current findings thus add to cumulated empirical evidence consistent with the Finno-Ugrian Suicide Hypothesis.