| Abstract: | ABSTRACT: This paper reexamines the “Scandinavian Suicide Phenomenon,” the observation that reported suicides are typically high in Denmark and Sweden and typically low in Norway even though these three countries seem otherwise similar. It has been suggested that in Norway more suicides are reported as accidental death or as death due to unknown causes. This paper explores this possibility by means of a detailed examination of causes of death. Nine other countries are included in the comparisons to facilitate interpretation of the findings. It was found that there were significantly higher rates of accidental and unclassified deaths in Norway than in Denmark or Sweden; if it is assumed that many of these are suicide, this could account for the reported differences in suicide rates. |
