Educational attainment and suicide rates in the United States

We examined the relationship between educational attainment and suicide rate in the United States for 2001. Suicide rates, adjusted for age, were compared with percentage of college graduates, median household income, and poverty in 50 states in 2001. The correlations of suicide rates with educational attainment and median household income were both negative and statistically significant. Poverty was not significantly related to suicide rates. We concluded that higher education and income were associated with a decrease in suicide rates in 2001. Data from other years require examination for this conclusion to be generalizable.     

State IQ and suicide rates in the United States

Previous findings pertaining to the direction (positive or negative) of the ecological correlation between intelligence and suicide rates in the USA have been conflicting. Using novel state IQ estimates, derived from the Scholastic Assessment Test, the American College Test, these tests combined, or the National Assessment of Educational Progress state scores, these estimates were not consistently associated to state suicide rates. Whereas ACT-derived state IQ was significantly positively correlated with suicide rates, the correlation with composite ACT-SAT-derived state IQ was significantly negative and with both SAT-derived and NAEP-derived state IQ also negative but not significant. Validity checks pointed to possible methodological problems with the state IQ estimates. Currently available estimates of state IQ, therefore, seem not appropriate to resolve the question of the direction of the ecological correlation of intelligence and suicide mortality across the USA.     

State IQ and elderly suicide rates in the United States

Paralleling previous findings with state suicide rates of the total population, the associations of state suicide rates of elderly persons with regional IQ estimates across the USA were inconsistent (positive, negative, or nil), depending on the source of available state IQ estimates used in the analysis. The implications of these findings and directions for further inquiry are discussed.     

Social ecology of intelligence and suicide in the United States

Two proxy variables for regional intelligence, state-level mean scores of 1994-2004 on the American College Test and of 1982, 1993, 1994, and 1998-2004 on the Scholastic Assessment Test, were consistently positively correlated with the averaged regional U.S. suicide rates of 1990-1994. The effects observed in these ecological (group-level) analyses were of small size, with correlation coefficients ranging from .05 to .25, thus mostly falling below the nominal statistical significance level. The present evidence nevertheless adds to several recent findings from international geographical studies by Lester and by Voracek of a positive association of intelligence and suicide mortality by indicating that this pattern may also exist on the within-nation level.     

The influence of economic business cycles on United States suicide rates

A number of social science investigators have shown that a downturn in the economy leads to an increase in the suicide rate. However, the previous works on the subject are flawed by the fact that they employ years as their temporal unit of analysis. This time period is so large that it makes it difficult for investigators to precisely determine the length of the lag effect, while at the same time removing the autocorrelation effects. Also, although most works on suicide and the business cycle employ unemployment as a measure of a downturn in the business cycle, the average duration of unemployment represents a better measure for determining the social impact of an economic downturn. From 1947 to 1977 the average monthly duration of unemployment is statistically related to the suicide rate using multivariate time-series analysis. From 1910 to 1939 the Ayres business index, a surrogate measure for movement in the business cycle, is statistically related to the monthly suicide rate. An examination of the findings confirms that in most cases a downturn in the economy causes an increase in the suicide rate.     

Social and economic correlates of the elderly suicide rate.

A review of research found that the suicide rates of the elderly show similar regional social correlates as the suicide rates of younger groups and that these rates can be explained using similar sociological theories. Time-series studies in the USA indicate that the impact of economic prosperity on the suicide rate of the elderly is beneficial, whereas the impact on the suicide rate of younger adults is detrimental. The issues raised by this research are discussed.     

Social Capital and Happiness in the United States

This paper explores the association between social capital and average happiness in the United States. Social capital is measured as a multidimensional concept consisting of social trust and two different indicators of sociability. In order to employ the variation both over time and across states, the data are organized in either a panel of nine US Census regions over the period 1983–1998 or in averages over this period in a cross-section of 48 states. The results show that social trust is positively associated with happiness while the potential effects of informal sociability at the level of society only appear significant in the regional estimates. The findings document the importance of social trust for average happiness but also hold more general implications for social capital theory.     

Personality correlates of HIV stigmatization in Russia and the United States

To determine whether stigmatizing attitudes towards HIV/AIDS are associated with personality traits, and whether these associations are generalizable across two cultures, we administered the English and the brief Russian version of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory, a standardized measure of a comprehensive model of personality traits, together with items assessing HIV stigmatization. We hypothesized that stigmatization would be associated chiefly with low Openness to Experience. Self-reports and observer ratings of personality and self-reports of HIV attitudes were collected from volunteers recruited by research assistants. HIV stigmatization was more pronounced in Russia than in the United States, but it was similarly related to personality traits, chiefly low Openness to Experience, a variable associated with other forms of prejudice, and low Agreeableness, suggesting a lack of altruism and sympathy. HIV stigmatization is especially likely to be a problem with people, and in cultures, low in Openness to Experience.     

Assessing the effects of peer suicide on youth suicide

Using data from all waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health, we investigated the short-term and long-term impact of an adolescent friend's suicide on an adolescent's depression and suicidality. Results suggest that a friend's suicide is associated with heightened suicide thoughts and attempts and greater depression during the first year after loss. Six years later, analyses show concurrent behaviors most relevant to explain suicidality fluctuations. Findings suggest the importance of therapeutic availability, especially during the first year, for those losing a friend to suicide.     

The missing piece: a sociological autopsy of firearm suicide in the United States

Social, economic, violence, political, and gun access predictors of suicide and gun suicide were examined via sociological autopsy. The model predicting suicide rates overall had the best results, χ(2) (9, N=50)=5.279 (CMIN, the goodness of fit statistic that represents the minimum discrepancy between the unrestricted sample covariance matrix and the restricted covariance matrix) p=.809, [the goodness of fit statistic that represents the minimum discrepancy between the unrestricted sample covariance matrix and the restricted covariance matrix] indicating an excellent fit of the data and theoretical model. The model explained 76% of the variance in state suicide rates and was a significantly better predictor than one could expect by chance, F(6,43)=22.889, p<.001). All path coefficients were significant predictors of suicide with the exception of violence climate, which was not included. This study contributes to the theoretical knowledge by adding a comprehensive framework of analysis and model useful for prevention.     

Local Religious Subcultures and Generalized Social Trust in the United States

Using multilevel analyses of 21,193 General Social Survey respondents nested within 256 metropolitan areas and counties, we find that individuals’ willingness to trust others is strongly related to the denominational make‐up of geographic areas. The percent of evangelical Protestants in the population negatively predicts individual‐level generalized trust, while percent mainline Protestant and percent Catholic positively predict trust. The effect sizes of these results are large and robust to statistical controls, and they hold even among nonmembers of the religious groups; for instance, “percent evangelical” predicts lower trust even among nonevangelicals. Black Protestant population share initially appears to predict lower trust, but the association disappears after adjusting for racial residential segregation. Following a longstanding theoretical tradition in the sociology of religion, we argue that the religious characteristics of places—not just individuals—shape local subcultures in ways that affect a broad range of behaviors, attitudes, and values such as generalized trust.     

Problem drinking in the family and youth suicide

Drawing from the work of Danigelis (1983), the present research put forth a theory of chronic stress to further our understanding of the processes related to suicide among 10- to 14-year-olds. Specifically, the relationship between problematic drinking in the home and youth suicide rates was examined. The hypothesis that chronic stress, as measured by problem drinking in the home, is related to youth suicide was supported.     

The Social Integration of Practitioners of Non-Western Religions in the United States

Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus have become an increasingly significant part of American religion in recent years. Yet scholarship on these groups has been limited largely to case studies and qualitative observations. We analyze data from a large national survey that permits comparisons among Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, and Christians. The data reveal that members of non-Western religions in the United States resemble Jews in having notably higher socioeconomic status than Christians. They resemble the rest of the population on other measures of actual or potential social integration, including political knowledge, generalized trust, neighborhood contacts, and interreligious ties. However, low levels of voting, a tendency to express feelings of alienation, and fewer connections with community elites suggest a continuing lack of political integration.     

Educational attainment, intelligence, interstate migration, and suicide rates in the United States: rejoinder to Abel and Kruger (2005)

Abel and Kruger (2005) reported a negative association of educational attainment and suicide rate across the United States. Given strong links between intelligence and educational attainment, this appears to be inconsistent with positive associations of intelligence and suicide rate reported in several other geographical studies. However, the apparent inconsistencies may reflect interstate migration within the U.S. adult population. Testing this hypothesis showed that interstate migration was more strongly related to state suicide rates than educational attainment. Thus, the different results obtained by Abel and Kruger could reflect migration effects, which for the U.S. might render adult-age indicators of educational attainment inappropriate to reflect regional variation in intelligence by place of birth.     

Acculturation and suicide attitudes: a study of perceptions about suicide among a sample of Ghanaian immigrants in the United States

To investigate whether a relationship exists between acculturation and attitudes about suicide, 81 Ghanaian immigrants living in the U.S. who responded to a mail inquiry were selected to participate in the current study. This particular immigrant sample was chosen because although they represent a rapidly growing group in the U.S., they have been rarely studied. Respondents consisted of 42 women and 36 men (3 did not identify their sex), with a mean age of 29.5 yr. (SD = 10.6). Participants completed measures of acculturation and attitudes about suicide. Results indicated significant correlations between length of residency in the United States and negative suicide attitudes, and also between psychological acculturation and negative suicide attitudes. No significant relationship was found between behavioral acculturation and suicide attitudes. Furthermore, length of residency was a stronger predictor of suicide attitudes than other subjective measures of acculturation. Implications and suggestions for further research are discussed.     

A thematic comparison of suicide notes drawn from Northern Ireland and the United States

Suicide is a global concern hence cross-cultural research ought to be central to national suicide prevention strategies. This study sought to investigate suicide notes drawn from Northern Ireland and the United States as these countries have broadly similar suicide rates but markedly different cultures. A theoretical-conceptual analysis of sixty suicide notes drawn from these countries, matched for age and sex, was undertaken based on a thematic model of suicide developed by Leenaars (1996) across countries. The results suggested that there were more psychological commonalities than differences. Two differences emerged which suggested that aspects of the interpersonal components may be more salient in Northern Irish rather than American suicides. It is argued that more wide-ranging cross-cultural studies are required to enhance our ability to identify and predict those most at risk from suicide.