ABSTRACT
Suicidology finds itself confused and stagnated for lack of a standard nomenclature. This paper proposes a nomenclature for suicide-related behavior in the hope of improving the clarity and precision of communications, advancing suicidological research and knowledge, and improving the efficacy of clinical interventions.
Subject(s)
Communication Barriers , Health Occupations/standards , Suicide/classification , Terminology as Topic , Communication , Death , Humans , Motivation , Self-Injurious Behavior/classification , Self-Injurious Behavior/psychology , Suicide/psychology , Suicide, Attempted/classification , Suicide, Attempted/psychology , Thinking , Wounds and Injuries/etiologyABSTRACT
Between 1971 and 1985, sex-specific suicide rates in Canada have diverged, with male rates increasing and female rates decreasing. Using linear regression techniques, we examined changes in sex- and method-specific rates and their association with changes in overall sex-specific rates. 92% of the variability in the overall female rates was explained by the declining rate for poisoning by solid or liquid substances. The most important change for males was the increasing rate for hanging, strangulation and suffocation which explained 65% of the change in the overall rate.
Subject(s)
Suicide , Canada , Female , Humans , Male , Regression Analysis , Sex FactorsABSTRACT
The present study analysed changes in sex-specific suicide rates in Canada from 1971 to 1985. A significant increase in the male-to-female ratio of suicide rates was observed. Our analysis of sex-specific age-adjusted rates revealed that this increasing ratio was a function of both increasing male rates and decreasing female rates, but that the latter was more marked. This divergence of male and female rates within the last decade and a half parallels similar changes noted both in the US and in the majority of European countries, but contrasts with a pattern of converging rates throughout North America and much of Europe prior to 1970.
