Precarious Suicide Behavior According to Housing Price Gap: A Case Study on South Korea

Abstract

In 2018, the suicide rate in South Korea was the highest among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, and socioeconomic inequality has intensified. This study analyzes the impact relationship between suicidal impulses and economic inequality in South Korea. This study measures suicidal impulses thoughts National Health Survey Data and economic inequality based on the housing prices gap in the country. The primary analysis results were as follows: First, suicidal impulses were positively associated with the high index of housing price inequality; this correlation has become tight in recent years. Second, it was confirmed that the higher the income level, the higher the correlation between suicidal impulses with the index of housing price inequality. Third, the correlation between housing price inequality with suicidal impulse increased consistently in highly urbanized areas, but the statistical significance was low in non-urban areas.

The impact of housing-price-related indices on suicide rates in Taiwan

“…Unlike other studies (Kang et al, 2021; Park et al, 2023), our study found no association between suicide and either housing prices or the housing price-to-income ratio. Instead, we found a correlation solely with the housing rental index.…”

“…Certain researchers have explored the impact of house loss on suicide rates, particularly in the aftermath of the global subprime mortgage crisis (Fowler et al, 2015; Jones & Pridemore, 2016; Rojas & Stenberg, 2016). Others have focused on the correlation between housing-price-related indices and suicide (Berk et al, 2006; Kang et al, 2021; Park et al, 2023). However, in studies using housing-price-related indices, each employs a unique, singular index, such as the housing price index (Kang et al, 2021), housing loan interest rates (Berk et al, 2006), or the housing cost-to-income ratio (Park et al, 2023).…”

The buffering effect of social capital for daily mental stress in an unequal society: a lesson from Seoul

“…The results of this study suggest that an unequal environment is related not only to severe mental disorders such as traumatic stress, suicidal ideation, and depression, but also to the stress commonly felt in daily life. As per Durkheim [ 78 ] and Wilkinson’s [ 79 , 80 ] hypothesis, economic inequality is related to mental disorders, and previous studies have empirically analyzed inequality with traumatic stress [ 20 ], status anxiety [ 17 ], depression [ 11 , 21 ], and suicidal ideation [ 9 ]. Although the mental health problems in previous studies are close to severe mental illness, the daily stress in this study is a mild mental health problem felt in daily life.…”

“…A society with a Gini coefficient close to 0 means a society with small economic disparity among its members, and a society with a Gini coefficient close to 1 means a society with large economic disparity among its members. Although the Gini coefficient was designed to measure income disparity, the index is also used to measure disparity and distribution in diverse fields [ 60 ] in housing price distribution [ 9 , 61 ], happiness inequality [ 62 ], and bacterial aggregation [ 63 ]. Based on the basic principle of the Gini coefficient, this study calculated the regional economic inequality index by accumulating housing prices from the lowest to the highest by replacing income.…”

“…The assumptions of this study are as follows: (1) The first assumption is that the level of daily mental stress in regions with high economic inequality is high. Existing studies have demonstrated that depression, anxiety, and traumatic stress are associated with intense mental health in highly unequal societies [ 9 , 11 , 16 , 20 ]. The first assumption is developed that neighborhoods with higher levels of economic inequality might be associated not only with higher levels of mental health but also with higher levels of daily stress.…”