Cohort, Age, and Period Effects in the Analysis of U.S. Suicide Patterns: l933-l978

This study employed multiple classification analysis to examine the impact of age, period, & cohort effects on U.S. white male suicide rates between 1933 & 1978. Drawing on a study of pulmonary tuberculosis mortality, the work specified 7 models. Period effects were found to be weaker than age & cohort effects for explaining shifts in white male suicide patterns. In this study, all of the 3 effects were measured indirectly, & this fact limits the validity of the findings. (GW)