The Effectiveness of Suicide Prevention Centers

The presence of suicide prevention centers in a state in 1970 was negatively associated with changes in the suicide rate from 1970 to 1980 in the USA, indicating a preventive effect from suicide prevention centers. This effect, though weak, was consistently found for most demographic subgroups of the population and when a strong social correlate of suicide rates (divorce rates) was taken into account by means of multiple regression analysis.