Suicide is Impacted by Culture: Gender Suicide Rates

Objective: Over the last century mental disorder has been promoted as the universal suicide trigger. This view has been discredited and other triggers are being considered. The aim is to determine whether different regions have sustained different suicide rates for the genders male and female. In the affirmative case, as gender roles are culturally determined, an impact of culture on suicidal behaviour would be confirmed.

Method: The WHO Suicide Rates data by country (2016) was examined over a 17-year period. This was examined for details of countries which had demonstrated higher female than male suicide. 6 were located and an additional 6 countries were selected with similar total suicide rates and a higher male than female suicide rate. The stability of higher female or male suicide rates was explored.

Results: The 6 countries with higher female suicide rates continued this pattern of behaviour over 17 years – and the countries with higher male suicide rates also continued the established pattern. Conclusions: The persistence of different gender suicide rates in 12 countries over 17 years confirmed that culture can strongly impact suicidal behaviour.