Suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic: Uncovering demographic and regional variation in the United States and associations with unemployment and depression

The COVID-19 pandemic heightened risk factors for suicide globally. Using prominent sociocultural theories of suicide, we investigated whether the COVID-19 pandemic affected suicide rates differently across demographic groups and regions in the United States of America. In Study 1, we found that after 2020 suicide rates increased especially among young Black and Alaskan Native populations. […]

Financial stress, unemployment, and suicide: A meta-analysis

Background: Socioeconomic factors such as financial stress and unemployment are known predictors of suicide. However, no large-scale meta-analyses exist. Aims: Determine the suicide risk following unemployment or financial stress. Method: Literature searched through July 31, 2021. Robust meta-analysis and metaregression of the risk of suicide following financial stress (23 studies) or unemployment (43 studies), from 20 nations. Subgroup meta-analyses by […]

A study on factors influencing youth to commit suicide in Kashmir

Suicide is one of the burning issues worldwide as its rate is increasing continuously. This paper examines the status of suicide in the world and factors influencing youth of Kashmir to commit suicide. The study was carried out  in Kashmir region in the year 2023 to trace the various socio-economic, political and cultural factors which […]

Association between services to address adverse social determinants of health and suicide mortality among veterans with indicators of housing instability, unemployment, and justice involvement

Suicide among Veterans continues to be a priority issue addressed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In addition to a variety of services specifically intended to prevent suicide, VA also offers a number of services to address Veterans’ social determinants of health (SDH), several of which may be associated with elevated risk for […]

Unemployment and underemployment are causes of suicide

Epidemiological studies indicate that labor underutilization and suicide are associated, yet it remains unclear whether this association is causal. We applied convergent cross mapping to test for causal effects of unemployment and underemployment on suicidal behavior, using monthly data on labor underutilization and suicide rates in Australia for the period 2004-2016. Our analyses provide evidence […]

Widening the knowledge of non-employment as a risk factor for suicide: A Norwegian register-based population study

Background There is a known association between employment status and suicide risk. However, both reason for non-employment and the duration affects the relationship. These factors are investigated to a lesser extent. About one third of the Norwegian working age population are not currently employed. Due to the share size of this population even a small […]

The economics of suicide: Evidence from LMICs and HICs

Suicide is an important global public health concern. This paper deals with the topic of suicide froman economic perspective. Thus, the study analyses the effect of key economic indicators on the suiciderate in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) and high-income countries (HICs). The empirical analysis is made by employing the search variable selection method and using […]

Global economic uncertainty and suicide: Worldwide evidence

Economic uncertainty is a driver of the business cycle. In a recent study, Claveria (2022) used a fixed-effects model to assess the impact of uncertainty on suicide rates worldwide. Using that same panel, in which global economic uncertainty is linked to the evolution of the suicide rates in 183 countries between 2000 and 2019, this […]

Unemployment, behavioral health, and suicide

A large body of research, most of which is ecological, has investigated the relationship between job loss or unemployment rates and mental health, substance use, and suicide. Groups historically experiencing health disparities (for example, Black and Hispanic populations and those without a high school or college degree) have been differently affected by unemployment during the […]

Can government responses to unemployment reduce the impact of unemployment on suicide? A systematic review

Background: Unemployment is a well-documented risk factor for suicide. Findings from a number of studies suggest that government policy plays a crucial role in mediating the unemployment–suicide relationship. Aims: Our review was designed to assess whether government policies aimed at managing unemployment can moderate the impact of unemployment on suicide and self-harm. Method: A systematic search of the Medline, ProQuest, […]

Suicidal histories in adults experiencing psychological trauma: Exploring vulnerability and protective factors

Objective This study aimed to identify vulnerability and protective factors for suicidal histories among adults experiencing psychological trauma. Method Adults seeking treatment for psychological trauma (N = 113) completed self-report questionnaires measuring childhood trauma history, self-concept, relational functioning, emotion regulation, living arrangements, employment status, marital status, and suicidal history. Independent samples t-tests were used to determine variables on […]

The association between unemployment and suicide among employed and unemployed people in Hong Kong: A time-series analysis

Background Unemployment is associated with suicide. However, it is unclear whether the influence of unemployment is consistent on suicide across subgroups with different employment status. This study aimed to explore the immediate and delayed association between unemployment and suicide among unemployed and employed people in Hong Kong. Methods Quarterly statistics on labor force, unemployment rate […]

Suicide reduction in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons informing national prevention strategies for suicide reduction

Objective: The objective of this research was to evaluate the impact of federal, public health and social support programs on national suicide rates in Canada. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Canadian National Database (i.e., Statistics Canada) and Statista. Participants: Population-level data, and economic and consumer market data. Main outcome measures: Suicide mortality data, population data and unemployment data were obtained from […]

Economic uncertainty and suicide in the United States

Previous studies have found an association between recessions and increased rates of suicide. In the present study we widened the focus to examine the association between economic uncertainty and suicides. We used monthly suicide data from the US at the State level from 2000 to 2017 and combined them with the monthly economic uncertainty index. […]

Caregiving as suicide-prevention: An ecological 20-country study of the association between men’s family carework, unemployment, and suicide

Purpose Suicide rates are generally higher in men than in women. Men’s higher suicide mortality is often attributed to public-life adversities, such as unemployment. Building on the theory that men’s suicide vulnerability is also related to their private-life behaviors, particularly men’s low engagement in family carework, this ecological study explored the association between men’s family […]

Situational approach to suicide prevention among Australian males: The role of unemployment

This article contends that the prevention of suicide, particularly in Australia, needs to be re-imagined, by expanding a medical/crisis response to take into account social factors that contribute to the incidence of suicide and suicidal ideation. The particular area of unemployment/underemployment provides one such example of the social determinants of suicide, and argues that the […]

Unemployment and suicide mortality, suicide attempts, and suicide ideation: A meta-analysis

Objectives Unemployment and job loss are among the problems that have serious psychological consequences. This meta-analysis sought to investigate the impact of unemployment on suicidality and put it to comprehensive study and meta-analysis. Method Mesh keywords were first extracted and these were formulated to search in PubMed and Scopus. Searches were limited to English, and […]

The COVID-19 pandemic and epidemiologic insights from recession-related suicide mortality.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the initiation of large-scale quarantine measures, resulting in widespread closures of significant sectors of the worldwide economy. The International Monetary Fund predicts that the world economy will experience the worst recession since the Great Depression, labelling this the “Great Lockdown” [1]. In this context, we need to plan for […]

Financial strain and suicide attempts in a nationally representative sample of US adults

Although research has identified many suicide risk factors, the relationship between financial strain and suicide has received less attention. Using data representative of the US adult population (n = 34,653) from wave 1 (2001–2002) and wave 2 (2004–2005) of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, we investigated the association between financial strain—financial debt/crisis, unemployment, […]

Association between unemployment and suicide during COVID-19

Background: The current pandemic has disrupted the whole globe in a couple of months and along with it has brought several major issues. One of those global threats is the rapidly increasing unemployment and the impending threat of suicides associated with it. Methods: Through a narrative review analysis the current study has tried to identify […]

Unemployment, suicide, and COVID-19: Using the evidence to plan for prevention

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions on movement and business operations have resulted in a sharp rise in unemployment. Global data consistently show that during times of economic hardship and rising unemployment, rates of suicide frequently rise. Certain measures have been found to be important in mitigating this increase. We present recommendations to lessen […]

Effects of increased minimum wages by unemployment rate on suicide in the USA

Background Social welfare policies such as the minimum wage can affect population health, though the impact may differ by the level of unemployment experienced by society at a given time. Methods We ran difference-in-differences models using monthly data from all 50 states and Washington, DC from 1990 to 2015. We used educational attainment to define treatment and […]

New findings on gender: The effects of employment status on suicide.