The Relationship of Suicide Rates to Sociodemographic Factors in Canadian Census Divisions

The correlates of suicide rates were determined by conducting a multivariate study of sociodemographic indicators & suicide rates of 261 census divisions. A spatial ecological analysis highlighted the importance of cultural differences in explaining the variation of suicide rates. The analysis supports the previously found negative relationship between income & suicide while contrasting from previous studies in determining an inverse relationship with unemployment & age distribution. (29 refs.)