OBJECTIVES: To assess the effect of having offspring, dependant offspring (<18 years), non-dependant offspring (> 18 years) and no offspring on suicide rates in women. Also to ascertain whether the offspring living at home or away from home altered the outcome. METHODS: Sixty records held by the coroner of female suicides in Rotherham over a 10-year period (1991-2001) were studied. The 1991 Census for South Yorkshire and the Office For National Statistics (England and Wales) provided comparative data for the general population. Data obtained for both groups included the age of the woman, number of children, age of children, whether the children lived with their mother or away from home. The results were subjected to chi-squared statistical analysis. RESULTS: There was no difference in the percentage of childless women when comparing the female suicide population of Rotherham with the general female population. However, females with offspring living at home regardless of age were significantly underrepresented in our sample (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The protective effect offspring confer on their mother against suicide appears to operate so long as the offspring lives at home irrespective of off spring's age. The protective effect appears to be lost once they leave home. These findings are discussed in the context of the kin selection hypothesis and deCatanzaro's Darwinian hypothesis on human suicide. (Int J Psych Clin Pract 2004; 8: 25-29).
OBJECTIVES: To assess the effect of having offspring, dependant offspring (<18 years), non-dependant offspring (> 18 years) and no offspring on suicide rates in women. Also to ascertain whether the offspring living at home or away from home altered the outcome. METHODS: Sixty records held by the coroner of female suicides in Rotherham over a 10-year period (1991-2001) were studied. The 1991 Census for South Yorkshire and the Office For National Statistics (England and Wales) provided comparative data for the general population. Data obtained for both groups included the age of the woman, number of children, age of children, whether the children lived with their mother or away from home. The results were subjected to chi-squared statistical analysis. RESULTS: There was no difference in the percentage of childless women when comparing the female suicide population of Rotherham with the general female population. However, females with offspring living at home regardless of age were significantly underrepresented in our sample (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The protective effect offspring confer on their mother against suicide appears to operate so long as the offspring lives at home irrespective of off spring's age. The protective effect appears to be lost once they leave home. These findings are discussed in the context of the kin selection hypothesis and deCatanzaro's Darwinian hypothesis on human suicide. (Int J Psych Clin Pract 2004; 8: 25-29).