The Effects of Socio-economic Development and Rate of Change on National Suicide Rates

• In Event: 033 - Section on Crime, Law, and Deviance Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
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Abstract

This study uses cross-national time series analysis to examine the effects of socio-economic change on national suicide rates in Western European countries. Drawing upon different strands of the Durkheimian framework, we seek to refine several alternative models of social and economic influences on national suicide rates. In particular, we clarify and test the distinction between the effects of long-term socio-economic development and short-term economic fluctuations on suicide rates in Western nations, as well as differentiating between the effects of change on one hand and the effects of the rate of change on the other. The results from a fixed-effects analysis show that the absolute value of change in economic development has no effect on change in national suicide rates, which runs counter to Durkheim’s (1951) theory. Consistent with prior research and Henry and Short’s (1954) theory, we find significant and negative effects of change in economic development on change in both total suicide rates and suicide rates among males. In line with Ginsberg’s (1980) theory, we also find a significant and negative effect of accelerated economic development on both total suicide rates and male suicide rates. Finally, we find that the absolute value of the rate of change in economic development is positively associated with changes in total suicide rates and male suicide rates. Taken together, our results support theoretical offshoots of the Durkheimian framework and reaffirm previous robust findings in cross-national research on suicide rates.

Authors

• Thoroddur Bjarnason, Unversity of Akureyri

• Sylwia Piatkowska, Old Dominion University