Adult Suicide Mortality in the United States: Marital Status, Family Size, Socioeconomic Status, and Differences by sex

This article addresses the relationship between suicide mortality & family structure & socioeconomic status for American adults. The authors used Cox proportional hazard models & individual-level prospective data from the National Health Interview Survey Linked Mortality File (1986-2002) to examine suicide mortality. Larger families & employment are associated with lower risks of suicide for both genders. Low levels of education or being divorced or separated, widowed, or never married are associated with increased risks of suicide among men but not women. Future research should use both aggregate & individual-level data & recognize important gender differences in the relationship between risk factors & suicide mortality. (61 refs.)