Suicide, Depression and Economic Conditions (IN: Current Concepts of Suicide, edited by D Lester)

This chapter examines the strength & the nature of the association between unemployment & suicidal behaviour. The available literature is reviewed. 2 Dutch studies are presented in more detail. The first of these studies did not yield conclusive evidence about causal links between depressed mood, unemployment & suicidal behaviour. The second study showed that being unemployed increased the probability of suicidal behaviour, but only in the presence of a “suicidal behavior repertoire”. (29 refs.)