This article was downloaded by: [Central Michigan University] On: 23 December 2014, At: 22:21 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
The Journal of Social Psychology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vsoc20
The Influence of War on Suicide Rates a
David Lester & Bijou Yang a
b
Center for the Study of Suicide
b
Drexel University Published online: 01 Jul 2010.
To cite this article: David Lester & Bijou Yang (1992) The Influence of War on Suicide Rates, The Journal of Social Psychology, 132:1, 135-137, DOI: 10.1080/00224545.1992.9924698 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224545.1992.9924698
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/ page/terms-and-conditions
The Journal of Social Psychology, 132(1), 135-137
Downloaded by [Central Michigan University] at 22:21 23 December 2014
The Influence of War on Suicide Rates DAVID LESTER Center for the Study of Suicide BUOUYANG Drexel University DURKHEIM (1897) NOTED that suicide rates decline during wars and attributed this decline to the increase in social integration brought about by war. During times of war, the existence of a clear external enemy and the bonding together in the face of this threat increase the social ties and networking in the society, thereby increasing social integration. Marshall (1981), however, in a time-series study of the American suicide rate from 1933 to 1976 found that, when unemployment rates were taken into account by means of multiple regression analyses, the effect of war on the American suicide rate was not statistically significant. He concluded that the impact of war on suicide rates was mediated by the effect of the war on the economy and not by any effect war might have on social integration. This study sought to explore the reliability of Marshall's results for the suicide rates of different social groups in the United States. The time period studied was 1933 (the first year for which the entire United States reported mortality statistics to the federal government) to 1986. Unemployment rates were obtained from Historical Statistics ofthe United States (Census Bureau, 1975), supplemented by the annual volume Statistical Abstract ofthe United States (Census Bureau, annual). We measured war operationally by using the size of the military per capita of the population, an operational measure suggested by Stack (1983). This measure peaked during World War 2 in 1945 (86.3 per 1,000 residents), with minor peaks during the Korean War in 1952 (23.1) and during the Vietnam War in 1968 (17.7). We obtained suicide rates, by age, race, and sex from Holinger (1987) and Osgood and McIntosh (1986). We calculated multiple regressions by using Doan's (1990) package for regression analysis of time series, with the Cochrane-Orcutt method for reducing serial autocorrelation (Cochrane & Orcutt, 1949). Address correspondence to David Lester, Center for the Study of Suicide, RR41, 5 Stonegate Court, Blackwood, NJ 08012. 135
Downloaded by [Central Michigan University] at 22:21 23 December 2014
136
The Journal of Social Psychology
The effect of unemployment was statistically significant for the total suicide rate, b = 0.139, t(49) = 3.19, p = .002, and for the suicide rate of White men, b = 0.294, t(49) = .3.67, p = .0006. However, it was not statistically significant for the suicide rates of White women, b = 0.029, t(49) = 1.08; non-White men, b = 0.074, t(49) = 1.59; or non-White women, b = 0.015, t(49) = 0.54. The effect of unemployment was significant for the suicide rates of those aged 25-64 but not for those aged 15-24 or 65 +. In contrast, the effect of the military participation rate was not statistically significant for the total suicide rate or the suicide rates of the four sexby-race groups (White men, White women, non-White men, and non-White women). The effect ofthe military participation rate was, however, significant for the suicide rates of those aged 45-54, b = -0.029, t(49) = 2.06, p = .04, and for those aged 55-64, b = -0.046, t(49) = 2.69, p = .01. These results confirm the findings of Marshall (1981) that unemployment is a stronger correlate of national suicide rates in the United States over time than is the size of the military forces. However, for those aged 45-64, the effect of the war (as measured by the military participation rate) was statistically significant: The greater the involvement in war, the lower the suicide rate was, as predicted by Durkheim (1897). The effect of war was thus found to be significant in those less likely to be involved in the fighting (those aged 45 to 64) and so cannot be attributed to suicidal adults using the heat of battle to act out their suicidal impulses. The impact of war was not found to be significant for people in the age groups most likely to be involved in the fighting; nor was it significant among the elderly. The degree of anxiety experienced by different segments of the population during wars should be explored. The emotional reactions to war of the elderly may be different from those of younger adults, as is the case, for example, in studies of the fear of crime (Lester, 1981).
REFERENCES Census Bureau. (1975). Historical statistics of the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Census Bureau. (Annual). Statistical abstract of the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Cochrane, D., & Orcutt, G. H. (1949). Application of least squares regressions to relationships containing autocorrelated error terms. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 44, 32-61. Doan, T. A. (1990). Regression analyses of time series. Evanston, IL: Var Econometrics. Durkheim, E. (1897). Le suicide. Paris: Felix Alcan. Holinger, P. C. (1987). Violent deaths in the United States. New York: Guilford. Lester, D. (1981). The elderly victim of crime. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.
Lester & Yang
137
Marshall, J. R. (1981). Political integration and the effect of war on suicide. Social Forces, 59, 771-785. Osgood, N. J., & McIntosh, 1. L. (1986). Suicide and the elderly. New York: Greenwood. Stack, S. (1983). The effect of the decline of institutionalized religion on suicide, 1954-1978. Journalfor the Scientific Study of Religion, 22, 239-252.
Downloaded by [Central Michigan University] at 22:21 23 December 2014
Received February 25, 1991
The Journal of Social Psychology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vsoc20
The Influence of War on Suicide Rates a
David Lester & Bijou Yang a
b
Center for the Study of Suicide
b
Drexel University Published online: 01 Jul 2010.
To cite this article: David Lester & Bijou Yang (1992) The Influence of War on Suicide Rates, The Journal of Social Psychology, 132:1, 135-137, DOI: 10.1080/00224545.1992.9924698 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224545.1992.9924698
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/ page/terms-and-conditions
The Journal of Social Psychology, 132(1), 135-137
Downloaded by [Central Michigan University] at 22:21 23 December 2014
The Influence of War on Suicide Rates DAVID LESTER Center for the Study of Suicide BUOUYANG Drexel University DURKHEIM (1897) NOTED that suicide rates decline during wars and attributed this decline to the increase in social integration brought about by war. During times of war, the existence of a clear external enemy and the bonding together in the face of this threat increase the social ties and networking in the society, thereby increasing social integration. Marshall (1981), however, in a time-series study of the American suicide rate from 1933 to 1976 found that, when unemployment rates were taken into account by means of multiple regression analyses, the effect of war on the American suicide rate was not statistically significant. He concluded that the impact of war on suicide rates was mediated by the effect of the war on the economy and not by any effect war might have on social integration. This study sought to explore the reliability of Marshall's results for the suicide rates of different social groups in the United States. The time period studied was 1933 (the first year for which the entire United States reported mortality statistics to the federal government) to 1986. Unemployment rates were obtained from Historical Statistics ofthe United States (Census Bureau, 1975), supplemented by the annual volume Statistical Abstract ofthe United States (Census Bureau, annual). We measured war operationally by using the size of the military per capita of the population, an operational measure suggested by Stack (1983). This measure peaked during World War 2 in 1945 (86.3 per 1,000 residents), with minor peaks during the Korean War in 1952 (23.1) and during the Vietnam War in 1968 (17.7). We obtained suicide rates, by age, race, and sex from Holinger (1987) and Osgood and McIntosh (1986). We calculated multiple regressions by using Doan's (1990) package for regression analysis of time series, with the Cochrane-Orcutt method for reducing serial autocorrelation (Cochrane & Orcutt, 1949). Address correspondence to David Lester, Center for the Study of Suicide, RR41, 5 Stonegate Court, Blackwood, NJ 08012. 135
Downloaded by [Central Michigan University] at 22:21 23 December 2014
136
The Journal of Social Psychology
The effect of unemployment was statistically significant for the total suicide rate, b = 0.139, t(49) = 3.19, p = .002, and for the suicide rate of White men, b = 0.294, t(49) = .3.67, p = .0006. However, it was not statistically significant for the suicide rates of White women, b = 0.029, t(49) = 1.08; non-White men, b = 0.074, t(49) = 1.59; or non-White women, b = 0.015, t(49) = 0.54. The effect of unemployment was significant for the suicide rates of those aged 25-64 but not for those aged 15-24 or 65 +. In contrast, the effect of the military participation rate was not statistically significant for the total suicide rate or the suicide rates of the four sexby-race groups (White men, White women, non-White men, and non-White women). The effect ofthe military participation rate was, however, significant for the suicide rates of those aged 45-54, b = -0.029, t(49) = 2.06, p = .04, and for those aged 55-64, b = -0.046, t(49) = 2.69, p = .01. These results confirm the findings of Marshall (1981) that unemployment is a stronger correlate of national suicide rates in the United States over time than is the size of the military forces. However, for those aged 45-64, the effect of the war (as measured by the military participation rate) was statistically significant: The greater the involvement in war, the lower the suicide rate was, as predicted by Durkheim (1897). The effect of war was thus found to be significant in those less likely to be involved in the fighting (those aged 45 to 64) and so cannot be attributed to suicidal adults using the heat of battle to act out their suicidal impulses. The impact of war was not found to be significant for people in the age groups most likely to be involved in the fighting; nor was it significant among the elderly. The degree of anxiety experienced by different segments of the population during wars should be explored. The emotional reactions to war of the elderly may be different from those of younger adults, as is the case, for example, in studies of the fear of crime (Lester, 1981).
REFERENCES Census Bureau. (1975). Historical statistics of the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Census Bureau. (Annual). Statistical abstract of the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Cochrane, D., & Orcutt, G. H. (1949). Application of least squares regressions to relationships containing autocorrelated error terms. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 44, 32-61. Doan, T. A. (1990). Regression analyses of time series. Evanston, IL: Var Econometrics. Durkheim, E. (1897). Le suicide. Paris: Felix Alcan. Holinger, P. C. (1987). Violent deaths in the United States. New York: Guilford. Lester, D. (1981). The elderly victim of crime. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.
Lester & Yang
137
Marshall, J. R. (1981). Political integration and the effect of war on suicide. Social Forces, 59, 771-785. Osgood, N. J., & McIntosh, 1. L. (1986). Suicide and the elderly. New York: Greenwood. Stack, S. (1983). The effect of the decline of institutionalized religion on suicide, 1954-1978. Journalfor the Scientific Study of Religion, 22, 239-252.
Downloaded by [Central Michigan University] at 22:21 23 December 2014
Received February 25, 1991
