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Urban and rural suicide differentials in migrants and the Australian-born, New South Wales, Australia 1985-1994

Author

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  • Morrell, Stephen
  • Taylor, Richard
  • Slaytor, Emma
  • Ford, Paul

Abstract

We estimated risk of suicide in adults in New South Wales (NSW) by sex, country of birth and rural/urban residence, after adjusting for age; we also examined youth suicide (age 15-24 years). The study population was the entire population of NSW, Australia, aged >=15 years during the period 1985-1994. Poisson regression was used to examine the relationship between predictor variables and the risk of suicide, with the focus on migrant status and area of residence. A significantly higher risk of suicide was found in male migrants from Northern Europe and Eastern Europe/former USSR, compared to Australian-born males; a significantly lower suicide risk occurred in males from Southern Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In female migrants, those from UK/Eire, Northern Europe, Eastern Europe/former USSR and New Zealand exhibited a significantly higher risk of suicide compared to Australian-born females. A significantly lower risk of suicide occurred in females from the Middle East. Male migrants overall were at significantly lower risk of suicide than the Australian-born, while female migrants overall had a significantly higher risk of suicide than Australian-born females. Among migrant males overall, the rural-urban suicide risk differential was significantly higher for those living in non-metropolitan areas (RR=1.9; 95% CI: 1.7-2.1). Suicide risk was significantly higher in non-metropolitan male immigrants from the UK/Eire (RR=1.4; 95% CI: 1.1-1.7), Southern Europe (RR=1.7; 95% CI: 1.2-2.4), Northern/Western Europe (1.5; 95% CI: 1.2-1.9), the Middle East (RR=3.8; 95% CI: 1.9-7.8), New Zealand (RR=1.4; 95% CI: 1.0-1.8) and 'other' (RR=2.6; 95% CI: 1.9-3.5), when compared to their urban counterparts. There was no statistically significant difference in suicide risk between rural and urban Australian-born males. For female suicide, significantly lower risk was found in female immigrants living in non-metropolitan areas who were from Northern/Western Europe (RR=0.7; 95% CI: 0.4-0.96), as well as the Australian-born (RR=0.7; 95% CI: 0.6-0.8), when compared to their urban counterparts. The non-metropolitan/metropolitan relative risk for suicide in female migrants overall was not significantly different from one. Among male youth there was a significantly higher suicide risk in non-metropolitan areas, with a relative risk estimate of 1.4 for Australian-born youth (95% CI: 1.2-1.5) and 1.7 for migrant youth (95% CI: 1.2-2.4), when compared with metropolitan counterparts. We conclude that suicide among migrant males living in non-metropolitan areas accounts for most of the excess of male suicide in rural NSW, and the significantly lower risk of suicide for non-metropolitan Australian-born women does not apply to migrant women.

Suggested Citation

  • Morrell, Stephen & Taylor, Richard & Slaytor, Emma & Ford, Paul, 1999. "Urban and rural suicide differentials in migrants and the Australian-born, New South Wales, Australia 1985-1994," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 81-91, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:49:y:1999:i:1:p:81-91
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Kanamori, Mariko & Kondo, Naoki & Juarez, Sol & Dunlavy, Andrea & Cederström, Agneta & Rostila, Mikael, 2020. "Rural life and suicide: Does the effect of the community context vary by country of birth? A Swedish registry-based multilevel cohort study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    2. Page, Andrew & Morrell, Stephen & Taylor, Richard & Dudley, Michael & Carter, Greg, 2007. "Further increases in rural suicide in young Australian adults: Secular trends, 1979-2003," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 442-453, August.
    3. Pearce, Jamie & Barnett, Ross & Jones, Irfon, 2007. "Have urban/rural inequalities in suicide in New Zealand grown during the period 1980-2001?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(8), pages 1807-1819, October.
    4. Taylor, Richard & Page, Andrew & Morrell, Stephen & Harrison, James & Carter, Greg, 2005. "Mental health and socio-economic variations in Australian suicide," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(7), pages 1551-1559, October.
    5. John Helliwell, 2007. "Well-Being and Social Capital: Does Suicide Pose a Puzzle?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 81(3), pages 455-496, May.
    6. Hempstead, Katherine, 2006. "The geography of self-injury: Spatial patterns in attempted and completed suicide," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(12), pages 3186-3196, June.

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