Suicide, Cross-Cultural Perspectives

An estimated 850,000 to 1 million people world-wide died by their own hand during the year 2000. Although a worldwide average rate of suicide is not available because of the unevenness of reporting, the World Health Organization offers that for every act of successful suicide there are approximately 10 to 20 unsuccessful attempts. In terms of the human condition, for every suicide there are surviving family members and significant others whose lives are profoundly affected [Page 914]emotionally, economically, and socially. These issues are addressed herein.

Worldwide data that are available indicate suicide ranks as the 13th leading cause of death and is generally ranked in the top 10 leading causes of death in the more developed nations. Indeed, in the developing countries of the world, suicide has increased more than 60#x0025; since 1960. This problem is particularly acute for India and China, which currently record the highest rates of suicide, 98 and 99 per 100,000 people, respectively. Along with Japan, India and China are thought to account for up to 40#x0025; of the total number of suicides recorded each year.

Among the young, ages 15 to 44, suicide ranks as the 4th leading cause of death worldwide. Unlike other leading causes of death, including heart disease and cancer, suicides are preventable. Suicide victims die at an earlier age than cancer or heart disease decadents; the modal age for suicide in the United States is currently a 44-year-old male with no life-threatening diseases. Hence, the years of potential life lost in the case of suicide deaths is much greater per death than for the most common causes of death.

The suicide rates (per 100,000 population) of the world's nations show considerable variation. In the year 2000, for example, suicide rates were as low as 5.5 per 100,000 for males in Greece and included rates many times greater such as 50.7 per 100,000 in Hungary. For females during that same year, the rate of suicide ranged from 1.5 per 100,000 in Costa Rica and Greece to a high of 15.1 per 100,000 in Hungary. The highest rates are generally found in Eastern Europe and the lowest rates in Latin America and Muslim nations. Suicide rates also tend to increase with age, and are higher among men than women. Given the statistics noted previously, this entry is organized around five features of society that increase the risk of suicide. These risk factors include gender, modernization, marital disruption, economic strain, and the “culture of suicide.”

Gender Roles and Gender Role Change

One of the most well-documented social facts in comparative suicide studies is that men have a higher suicide rate than women. In the developed nations, for example, the male suicide rate is generally at least twice that of females. In the United States, the ratio is currently 4.3, in Austria 2.8, France 2.9, and Sweden 2.5. Reasons for this gender differential are not fully understood. Common explanations include (a) religiosity levels, a protective factor against suicide, are higher among women than men; (b) a key risk factor for suicide, alcoholism, is five times higher among men than women; (c) greater help-seeking behavior for mental health problems among females than males, both for professional help as well as help from support networks; (d) women have stronger negative attitudes toward suicide than do men; and (e) women have less access to and less knowledge about firearms, a highly lethal means of suicide, than do men.

...