| Abstract: | ABSTRACT: The relationship between status and suicide has not been clearly established. Henry and Short suggested a direct relationship, but subsequent research has proposed an inverse association. The present study of elderly males uses information obtained from two sources: (a) a random sample of the aged population studied in Pinellas County, Florida, in 1959; and (b) persons aged 65 and over who committed suicide in that county between 1955 and 1963. The major findings are: (a) the highest suicide rate is found at the lowest class level, suggesting an inverse relationship; (b) class differential in suicide is explained by a direct relationship between class and the relational system; and (c) controlling on the relational system results in a direct association between class and suicide. Thus, both status and the relational system operate independently and jointly to affect suicide rates of these elderly males. Findings suggest that both Henry and Short and later investigators are partially correct. The relationship between status and suicide may be clarified by taking into account other factors which are class related but which perhaps are more significant than measures of class alone. |
