OBJECTIVES: It is to estimate the trend of suicide rate changes during the past three decades in China and try to identify its social and economic correlates. METHODS: Official data of suicide rates and economic indexes during 1982-2005 from Shandong Province of China were analyzed. The suicide data were categorized for the rural / urban location and gender, and the economic indexes include GDP, GDP per capita, rural income, and urban income, all adjusted for inflation. RESULTS: We found a significant increase of economic development and decrease of suicide rates over the past decades under study. The suicide rate decrease is correlated with the tremendous growth of economy. CONCLUSION: The unusual decrease of Chinese suicide rates in the past decades is accounted for within the Chinese cultural contexts and maybe by the Strain Theory of Suicide. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
OBJECTIVES: It is to estimate the trend of suicide rate changes during the past three decades in China and try to identify its social and economic correlates. METHODS: Official data of suicide rates and economic indexes during 1982-2005 from Shandong Province of China were analyzed. The suicide data were categorized for the rural / urban location and gender, and the economic indexes include GDP, GDP per capita, rural income, and urban income, all adjusted for inflation. RESULTS: We found a significant increase of economic development and decrease of suicide rates over the past decades under study. The suicide rate decrease is correlated with the tremendous growth of economy. CONCLUSION: The unusual decrease of Chinese suicide rates in the past decades is accounted for within the Chinese cultural contexts and maybe by the Strain Theory of Suicide. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
Authors: Ricardo Gusmão; Sónia Quintão; David McDaid; Ella Arensman; Chantal Van Audenhove; Claire Coffey; Airi Värnik; Peeter Värnik; James Coyne; Ulrich Hegerl Journal: PLoS One Date: 2013-06-19 Impact factor: 3.240