Societal Integration and Age-Standardized Suicide Rates in 21 Developed Countries, 1955-1989

Gender-specific age-standardized rates for 21 developed countries over seven 5-year periods from 1955-1989 form the two dependent variables. Durkheim’s theory of social integration is the framework used to generate the independent variables, although several recent theories are also examined. The results from a MGLS multiple regression analysis of both male & females rates provide overwhelming support for a multidimensional theory of societal integration & suicide, as Durkheim first suggested.