IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v114y2014icp151-160.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A changing epidemiology of suicide? The influence of birth cohorts on suicide rates in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Phillips, Julie A.

Abstract

The increases in suicide among middle-aged baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) in the United States since 1999 suggest a changing epidemiology of suicide. Using data from 1935 to 2010, this paper conducts age-period-cohort analyses to determine the impact of cohorts in shaping temporal patterns of suicide in the United States. The analysis demonstrates that age, period and cohort effects are all important in determining suicide trends. Net of age and period effects, the cohort pattern of suicide rates is U-shaped, with cohorts born between 1915 and 1945 possessing among the very lowest suicide rates. Suicide rates begin to rise with boomers and subsequent cohorts exhibit increasingly higher rates of suicide. The general pattern exists for both men and women but is especially pronounced among males. The average suicide rate over the entire period for males is about 28 per 100,000, 95% CI [27.4, 28.7]. For males born in 1930–34, the suicide rate is estimated to be 17.4 per 100,000, 95% CI [15.9, 18.8]; for males born between 1955 and 1959, the rate is essentially the same as the average for the period while for males born between 1985 and 1989, the suicide rate is estimated to be 37.8 per 100,000, 95% CI [33.1, 43.4]. The results dispute popular claims that boomers exhibit an elevated suicide rate relative to other generations, but boomers do appear to have ushered in new cohort patterns of suicide rates over the life course. These patterns are interpreted within a Durkheimian framework that suggests weakened forms of social integration and regulation among postwar cohorts may be producing increased suicide rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Phillips, Julie A., 2014. "A changing epidemiology of suicide? The influence of birth cohorts on suicide rates in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 151-160.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:114:y:2014:i:c:p:151-160
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.05.038
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953614003323
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.05.038?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert M. O’Brien, 2011. "Constrained Estimators and Age-Period-Cohort Models," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 40(3), pages 419-452, August.
    2. Mäkinen, Ilkka, 1997. "Are there social correlates to suicide?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 44(12), pages 1919-1929, June.
    3. Umberson, Debra, 1992. "Gender, marital status and the social control of health behavior," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 907-917, April.
    4. Julie Phillips, 2013. "Factors Associated With Temporal and Spatial Patterns in Suicide Rates Across U.S. States, 1976–2000," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(2), pages 591-614, April.
    5. Henry S. Farber, 2007. "Is the Company Man an Anachronism? Trends in Long Term Employment in the U.S., 1973-2006," Working Papers 1039, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    6. Henry S. Farber, 2007. "Is the Company Man an Anachronism? Trends in Long Term Employment in the U.S., 1973-20061," Working Papers 1039, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    7. Yang Yang, 2008. "Trends in U.S. adult chronic disease mortality, 1960–1999: age, period, and cohort variations," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 45(2), pages 387-416, May.
    8. Herbert L. Smith, 2008. "Advances in Age–Period–Cohort Analysis," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 36(3), pages 287-296, February.
    9. Susan L. Brown & I-Fen Lin, 2012. "The Gray Divorce Revolution: Rising Divorce Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults, 1990-2010," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 67(6), pages 731-741.
    10. Dennis Ahlburg & Morton Schapiro, 1984. "Socioeconomic ramifications of changing cohort size: an analysis of U.S. postwar suicide rates by age and sex," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 21(1), pages 97-108, February.
    11. Robert M. O’Brien, 2011. "Intrinsic Estimators as Constrained Estimators in Age-Period-Cohort Accounting Models," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 40(3), pages 467-470, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Borgschulte, Mark & Vogler, Jacob, 2020. "Did the ACA Medicaid expansion save lives?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    2. Borgschulte, Mark & Corredor-Waldron, Adriana & Marshall, Guillermo, 2018. "A path out: Prescription drug abuse, treatment, and suicide," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 169-184.
    3. Tomáš Katrňák & Barbora Hubatková, 2022. "Does educational expansion decrease suicide rates in European countries? The compositional effect in educational stratification of suicides," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 923-947, June.
    4. Julie A Phillips & Elizabeth A Luth & J Jill Suitor, 2020. "Beliefs About Suicide Acceptability in the United States: How Do They Affect Suicide Mortality?," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 75(2), pages 414-425.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shuai Chen & Jan C. Ours, 2018. "Subjective Well-being and Partnership Dynamics: Are Same-Sex Relationships Different?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(6), pages 2299-2320, December.
    2. Cooper, Daniel & Luengo-Prado, María José, 2018. "Household formation over time: Evidence from two cohorts of young adults," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 106-123.
    3. Dynan Karen & Elmendorf Douglas & Sichel Daniel, 2012. "The Evolution of Household Income Volatility," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 12(2), pages 1-42, December.
    4. Chen, Shuai, 2019. "Marriage, minorities, and mass movements," Other publications TiSEM 9cb1b11d-12e6-46a8-adca-4, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    5. G. Miller & Yuriy Pylypchuk, 2014. "Marital Status, Spousal Characteristics, and the Use of Preventive Care," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 35(3), pages 323-338, September.
    6. Subramanian, S.V. & Elwert, Felix & Christakis, Nicholas, 2008. "Widowhood and mortality among the elderly: The modifying role of neighborhood concentration of widowed individuals," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(4), pages 873-884, February.
    7. Abdul Munasib & Genti Kostandini & Jeffrey L. Jordan, 2018. "Impact of the Stand Your Ground law on gun deaths: evidence of a rural urban dichotomy," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 527-554, June.
    8. Pollitt, Amanda M. & Donnelly, Rachel & Mernitz, Sara E. & Umberson, Debra, 2020. "Differences in how spouses influence each other's alcohol use in same- and different-sex marriages: A daily diary study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    9. Hippolyte d'Albis & Karina Doorley & Elena Stancanelli, 2021. "Older mothers' employment and marriage stability when the nest is empty," PSE Working Papers halshs-03203063, HAL.
    10. Newton, Nicky J. & Ryan, Lindsay H. & King, Rachel T. & Smith, Jacqui, 2014. "Cohort differences in the marriage–health relationship for midlife women," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 64-72.
    11. Missinne, Sarah & Colman, Elien & Bracke, Piet, 2013. "Spousal influence on mammography screening: A life course perspective," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 63-70.
    12. Jo Mhairi Hale, 2017. "Cognitive Disparities: The Impact of the Great Depression and Cumulative Inequality on Later-Life Cognitive Function," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(6), pages 2125-2158, December.
    13. Nadine Ouellette & Magali Barbieri & John R. Wilmoth, 2014. "Period-Based Mortality Change: Turning Points in Trends since 1950," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 40(1), pages 77-106, March.
    14. Camila Maciel de Oliveira & Luciane Viater Tureck & Danilo Alvares & Chunyu Liu & Andrea Roseli Vançan Russo Horimoto & Mercedes Balcells & Rafael de Oliveira Alvim & José Eduardo Krieger & Alexandre , 2020. "Relationship between marital status and incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in a Brazilian rural population: The Baependi Heart Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(8), pages 1-10, August.
    15. Marcel Fischer & Natalia Khorunzhina, 2019. "Housing Decision With Divorce Risk," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 60(3), pages 1263-1290, August.
    16. Molly A. Martin & Margaret Gough Courtney & Adam M. Lippert, 2022. "The Risks and Consequences of Skipping Meals for Low-Income Mothers," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(6), pages 2613-2644, December.
    17. Hui Zheng & Jonathan Dirlam & Paola Echave, 2021. "Divergent Trends in the Effects of Early Life Factors on Adult Health," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 40(5), pages 1119-1148, October.
    18. Ryan Masters & Robert Hummer & Daniel Powers & Audrey Beck & Shih-Fan Lin & Brian Finch, 2014. "Long-Term Trends in Adult Mortality for U.S. Blacks and Whites: An Examination of Period- and Cohort-Based Changes," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(6), pages 2047-2073, December.
    19. Borau, Sylvie & Couprie, Hélène & Hopfensitz, Astrid, 2022. "The prosociality of married people: Evidence from a large multinational sample," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    20. Haoyu Wen & Cong Xie & Lu Wang & Fang Wang & Yafeng Wang & Xiaoxue Liu & Chuanhua Yu, 2019. "Difference in Long-Term Trends in COPD Mortality between China and the U.S., 1992–2017: An Age–Period–Cohort Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-15, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:114:y:2014:i:c:p:151-160. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.