The Great Recession, unemployment and suicide

Abstract

BackgroundHow have suicide rates responded to the marked increase in unemployment spurred by the Great Recession? Our paper puts this issue into a wider perspective by assessing (1) whether the unemployment-suicide link is modified by the degree of unemployment protection, and (2) whether the effect on suicide of the present crisis differs from the effects of previous economic downturns.MethodsWe analysed the unemployment-suicide link using time-series data for 30 countries spanning the period 1960–2012. Separate fixed-effects models were estimated for each of five welfare state regimes with different levels of unemployment protection (Eastern, Southern, Anglo-Saxon, Bismarckian and Scandinavian). We included an interaction term to capture the possible excess effect of unemployment during the Great Recession.ResultsThe largest unemployment increases occurred in the welfare state regimes with the least generous unemployment protection. The unemployment effect on male suicides was statistically significant in all welfare regimes, except the Scandinavian one. The effect on female suicides was significant only in the eastern European country group. There was a significant gradient in the effects, being stronger the less generous the unemployment protection. The interaction term capturing the possible excess effect of unemployment during the financial crisis was not significant.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that the more generous the unemployment protection the weaker the detrimental impact on suicide of the increasing unemployment during the Great Recession.

Economic crisis and suicides in Spain. Socio-demographic and regional variability

“…One of the most widely studied fields is that of mental health and suicide, in which the results reveal a clear positive relationship between unemployment and psychological morbidity [21,22]. These conditions are in turn associated with an increased number of suicide attempts [23].…”

Z delom povezani dejavniki tveganja za samomorilno vedenje, varovalni dejavniki in možnosti preventivnega delovanja

“…V nekaterih raziskavah se močnejša povezanost kaže pri moških (Barr, Taylor-Robinson, Scott-Samuel, McKee in Stuckler, 2012;Legleye idr., 2010;Norström in Grönqvist, 2015;Ying in Chang, 2009), v drugih pa pri ženskah (Kposowa, 2001;Milner, Morrell in LaMontagne, 2014). Pompili idr.…”

“…Recesija se tako na splošno kaže kot pomemben dejavnik tveganja za samomorilnost v populaciji ne glede na zaposlitveni status (npr. Barr idr., 2012;Laanani, Ghosn, Jougla in Rey, 2014;Norström in Grönqvist, 2015;Yip in Caine, 2011). V obdobju recesije bi lahko na porast števila samomorov med brezposelnimi vplivala npr.…”

“…V obdobju recesije bi lahko na porast števila samomorov med brezposelnimi vplivala npr. čustva brezupa, ki se morda pojavljajo ob izgubi službe in/ali neuspešnem iskanju zaposlitve, v okoliščinah, v katerih so možnosti za uspešno iskanje službe majhne (Norström in Grönqvist, 2015). Povišanje količnika samomora v skupini zaposlenih v času recesije pa lahko razlagamo npr.…”

“…še toliko bolj poudarjen (Corcoran in Arensman, 2010). V času ekonomske recesije pa je po drugi strani lahko izguba službe za posameznika manj stigmatizirajoč dogodek, saj se podobno dogaja tudi številnim drugim članom družbe (Norström in Grönqvist, 2015). V takšnih okoliščinah morda najbolj ranljivi posamezniki ne predstavljajo več večine v skupini brezposelnih in tako postane povezanost med brezposelnostjo in samomorilnim količnikom šibkejša.…”