The Effects of War and Alcohol Consumption Patterns on Suicide: United States, 1910-1933

Argues that national wars decrease suicide because they diminish alcohol availability in society, which reduces suicide triggered by alcohol consumption. To test the hypothesis, aggregate data for the U.S.A. in the World War I & prohibition era was examined. A longitudinal analysis of the total national data between 1910-33 shows that the levels of alcohol consumption & changes in the national business cycle are significantly related to suicide, while participation in World War I was not.