The environment and suicide: Why suicidologists should support climate change policies

When suicidologists consider how the environment may impact suicide, they typically focus on the social and economic environment and the interpersonal environment. For the former, Lester and Yang (1997) documented how factors such as the business cycle might impact suicide rates while, many years ago, Platt (1984) showed that unemployment increased suicide rates. As for the interpersonal environment, in articulating his interpersonal theory of suicide, Joiner (2005) argued that perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belonging were present in those who died by suicide, and Van Orden et al. (2010) reviewed research supporting the theory. But does the physical environment have an impact on suicide?