Suicide is a universal phenomenon that has deep and extensive implications for the overall wellbeing of a community. Not only is suicide a tragic personal and societal loss, but suicide rates can also serve as an index of underlying societal problems, such as sources of oppression and lack of social support. Exhibiting several interesting suicide trends, China is a country that provides ample opportunity for investigating the problem of suicide and its causes. There are observed Western patterns of urban, male, and mentally ill populations being at greater risk for suicide—trends that are challenged by the reversed patterns of suicide in China, where “youth, female gender, and rural residence are a potentially lethal combination”.1 The …show more content…
For example, in Western societies, suicide is 3 times more prevalent in urban than in rural areas2, 3-5 times more prevalent in males than in females when measured through completion rates (though attempt rates are higher among females)3, and 9 times more often associated with mental illness than not.1 The explanations for these trends draw on psychological and sociological theories: it has been hypothesized that men are more likely than women to use lethal means of attempting suicide, and that the economic hardship, unemployment, and social disintegration that afflict city life make suicide a greater problem in urban than in rural areas.4 In China, however, the trends regarding gender, urban status, and mental health are surprisingly reversed: rural suicides outnumber urban suicides by a 3:1 ratio, female suicides outnumber male suicides by a 3:1 ratio, and as few as 40% of suicides are accompanied by mental illness.5
The Western perspective is accustomed to viewing suicide as intrinsically linked to mental health conditions such as depression, and thus often examines suicide by considering individual psychological factors. However, the unique patterns of suicide seen in China require an examination of suicide not only from a mental health perspective, but also from an anthropological perspective that is sensitive to social stressors, not just
Feelings of isolation have been linked to higher suicide rates. Durkheim’s study on suicide during the industrial revolution supports this theory as he states that, “people were increasingly disconnected from their communities and that this social upheaval had a greater effect on suicide rates than other factors like wealth” (Winner & Collishaw, 2011). Interestingly enough, despite the increase of media attention on suicide, no studies have been published that explain why suicide rates vary among different groups. However, various factors are involved in the decision to commit suicide. As a result, suicide rates vary according to race, gender and age.
Suicide was seen as a just way to die if one was faced with unendurable suffering - be it physical or emotional”. Throughout time, suicide has been viewed and dealt with in countless ways. Recently in America, the problem has grown increasingly. In the past decade, suicide rates have been on the incline; especially among men. According to the New York Times (2013), “From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans ages 35 to 64 rose by nearly 30 percent… The suicide rate for middle-aged men was 27.3 deaths per 100,000, while for women it was 8.1 deaths per 100,000”. A 30 percent increase with an average of 19 more male suicides than female suicides is certainly an issue for both genders, and an epidemic for men. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (n.d.), found that in 2010, 38,364 suicides were reported, with 78.9% being men. The economic recession, unemployment, and various other factors are speculated to be responsible for this incline in male suicide. As of 2010, an estimated 30,308 men ended their own lives, and it seems as if there is a great risk of that number increasing each year.
Among Asian-American adults, those aged 18-34 had the highest rates of suicidal thoughts (11.9 percent), intent (4.4 percent) and attempts (3.8 percent) compared to other age groups. This shows that the strict method that Chinese mothers use usually leads to their children to develop elevated levels of suicidal thoughts. A paragraph in the article Christine Lu states that ” My big sister was what I use to jealously call “every Asian parent’s wet dream came true”, she committed suicide a month after her wedding at the age of
China’s suicide rate is among the highest in the world. Globally, men are more likely to die by suicide but women are more likely to attempt it. This is the case for most countries but China is one of the few in which women are more likely to die by suicide. According the World Health Organization, in 1987-1999 the suicide rate per 100,000 people was 15-13 for men and 20-15 for women. China’s suicide rates has decreased dramatically since the 1990s, however a study done in 2008 by Samuel Law and Pozi Liu shows that the ratio of suicide of women and men more or less keeps on being around 3:1. Law and Pozi also found this ration to be the same for rural to urban suicides. Young females suicides in rural areas of China were a major contribution to suicide rates of China during 1990s. This may be due to the cultural-socioeconomic disadvantages that Chinese rural females hold. In this essay, the possible causes for such high rates in young females suicides in rural China will be explored and comparison as well as connections will be made to Sociologist and Philosopher Emile Durkheim’s thoughts on suicide.
Over the past decade suicide rates have been either stagnant or have been decreasing over all of the demographics of people. One demographic of people's suicide rate, on the other hand, has risen at a substantial rate. Scientists and researchers have just started studying this trend and have yet to draw one specific reason on why middle aged white males suicide rates are climbing. The suicide rate for this demographic of people has just surpassed the deaths by automobile accidents. This recent epidemic has got many researchers and scientists asking the question of “why?”.
Suicide behavior arise in adolescence, a period when significant mood and disturb behavior preoccupied with death (Stoep, 2009). Teen suicide rates are disturbing and have been increasing in the current years base on statistic (Croft, 2016). The increasing number of teen suicide have cause awareness and brought attention to observance in teen suicide (Croft, 2016). It is said to be the third leading cause of death seen from 10 to 19 year old. Female are more likely to initiate suicide than male. Male often use harsh method to attempt suicide such as guns, while female often consume excessive amount of sleeping pill to cause overdose or slit
According to the American Psychological Association, and based on the national suicide rates in 2007, suicide was the 8th leading cause of death for Asian-Americans, and the 11th leading cause of death for all racial and ethnic groups combined. The second leading cause of death for Asian-Americans between the ages 15-34 was suicide. Among all Asian-Americans, 20-24 year olds had the highest suicide rates of all (Heron, M. 2011). Above all, Asian women have a higher suicide rate than males (Xu, J.2010). A significant amount of research and many studies of suicide among Asian Americans reveal many factors that play a role in these high numbers.
Suicide is defined as “The action of killing oneself intentionally” within both South Korea and Wales. Suicide is seen as a huge social issue in both Wales and South Korea, both countries have seen a huge rise in suicide rates in the last decade but South Korea disproportionately sees a higher rate of suicide. Both countries are experiencing a rise in suicide rates and so, suicide is seen as a huge social issue, with government and non governmental bodies aiming to combat it. In my investigation I will not only be researching who this issue affects and what issues seem to be the main cause for the growth in suicide rates, but also responses and ways people have tried to tackle this problem. To do this I will have to follow my aims, which
Every suicide effects more than the individual’s life, in truth it impacts families, communities and economic well-being of our nation. According, Piscopo, Lipari, Cooney, and Glasheen, (2016) “Suicide is an important public health problem in the United States and a tragedy for all involved—families, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and communities. In 2014, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in the United States overall.1 Among people aged 10 to 34, suicide was the second highest cause of death, and for those aged 35 to 54, it was the fourth highest cause of death” (p. 2).
One of the first causes of the suicide at the young people is depression. “According to a survey done using the psychological autopsy method, 70–90% of those who committed suicide had evidence of some mental disorder when alive, and 60–70% were depressed.” (TAKAHASHI, 2001) We consider that approximately 10 % of young adult know a period of depression, and that two thirds of them are females. “Women are twice as likely as men to have depression.” (D. Smith,
This is a critical appraisal of the article A Tool for the Culturally Competent Assessment of Suicide: The Cultural Assessment of Risk for Suicide (CARS) Measure with the purpose of improving my research and critical reading skills.
Yet, suicide also affects different kinds of individuals which happen to be of distinct racial and ethnic status. The socioeconomic status also plays a role in determining the individuals who commit suicide. In the article “Suicide and the Creative Class,” it states the following, “Thus, different groups will be more or less likely to commit suicide. These differences make suicide an important area of study for social scientists because of its prevalence, preventability, and the wide sweeping effects that it has on family, friends, and acquaintances of suicide victims” (Moore, Recker, & Heirigs, 2014). Thus, implicating the pressures of society and the differences of social status.
The CDC Suicide Facts at a Glance (2015) provided the following statics, “ Suicide is the third leading cause of death among persons aged 10-14, the second among persons aged 15-34 years, the fourth among persons aged 35-44 years, the fifth among persons aged 45-54 years, the eighth among person 55-64 years, and the seventeenth among persons 65 years and older.” Males have a four times higher rate than females for suicide and make up 77.9%, and firearms are the most commonly used method for males making up 56.9% (CDC, 2015). Females are more likely to have suicidal thoughts and poisoning is the most common methods for females making up 34.8%. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015).
For this research project, I aim to better understand attitudes on suicide in the United States and Japan among youth (approx. 15-24 years). I hope to find an answer to the question of, how understanding the similarities and differences between both American and Japanese youth suicide can lead to a better understanding of how to combat this issue as a whole. Learning from both the successes and failures of each country’s history with suicide will also prove vital in understanding the environmental factors that may contribute to such a large number of suicides within this age group. With 5,079 young adults taking their lives each year in the United States (CDC, 2015) and 1,931 in Japan (WHO, 2009), it is clear that action must be taken to help curb the amounts of suicide, a daunting but necessary task. Although my ‘goal’ is to help in the effort to curb the amount of suicides each year, I realize that the scope of this project is limiting in that to try to achieve this would be far reaching. Therefore, with the goal of understanding the similarities and differences between both countries, at the very least, I can increase the understanding and awareness of this issue.
Suicide is a main source of death around the world and ranks among the three main causes of death among young adults aged between 15-45 years. Indeed, a response to this continuous worldwide issue, the World Health Organization called for the prevention of suicide (WHO, 2015). Several studies have evaluated some of the contributing factors, however, the connection between suicide and the evaluated factors is conclusively positive or negative.