The Impact of Accession to the European Union on Suicide Rates: A Cross-National Time-Series Analysis

• In Event: 413 - Regular Session. Cross-National Sociology

Abstract

A fairly large body of work has examined the impact of socioeconomic and political changes on suicide rates during transitional periods in Eastern European nations. While much work has focused on the suicide rates in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Regime, little is known about the suicide trends in Eastern European nations in the later stages of their transformations. The present study addresses this gap by exploring the effects of entry into the EU on the levels of suicide in the Eastern European countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007. Using pooled cross-sectional time-series data that cover approximately 20 years (1990-2011), we examine the impact of EU membership on suicide rates in ten Eastern European nations. The results from fixed-effects regression analyses indicate that entry into the EU is negatively associated with suicide rates. In addition, we find that economic growth has a negative effect on suicide rates, whereas the divorce rate and income inequality have positive effects on suicide rates. We also find that homicide has a positive effect and energy consumption has a negative effect on suicide rates, but only for males. Our findings underscore the impact of socioeconomic and political changes on suicide rates. They also reaffirm the role of important predictors of suicide in Eastern European settings.

Authors

• Sylwia Piatkowska, State University of New York-Albany

• Lawrence E. Raffalovich, State University of New York-Albany

• Steven F. Messner, State University of New York