A Comparison of Suicide-Dip Effects of Major Sport Events and Civil Holidays

Abstract

Recent research has shown that there are “death dips” for suicide around major ceremonial occasions, and for certain public holidays in particular. This research suggests that the suicide-dip phenomenon is caused by increased social integration associated with such occasions. Elsewhere in the literature, sociological interpretations of major sport events indicate that they, too, serve as ceremonial occasions and play an integrative role in society. Building from these two sets of observations, we test the hypothesis that suicide rates for the national population (1972-78) are lower than expected during and just before two sport ceremonial days: the last day of the World Series and Super Bowl Sunday. Comparisons are made with suicide patterns around two civil holidays—the 4th of July and Thanksgiving Day—for which suicide dips have previously been reported. The results for both the sport events and the civil holidays show that suicides are comparatively low just before and during the ceremonial days and comparatively high just after them. The effects for the sport ceremonies are weak, but the common elements in the patterns of findings for the sport events and civil holidays suggest that the suicide-dip phenomenon extends to these sport ceremonies.

Impact of the 1998 Football World Cup on Suicide Rates in France: Results from the National Death Registry

“…The incidence of suicide in the United States has been found to be lower on Super Bowl Sundays compared with other Sundays (Joiner et al., 2006). By contrast, Curtis et al., (1986) did not find any significant decrease in the number of suicides on sports ceremonial days in the United States. However, Curtis et al based their study on the American general population, and their data did not allow to test for subgroup effects.…”

“…Worldwide, the cumulative television audience for the 64 matches was nearly 40 billion people. For the first time, France became world champion and the widespread feeling of joy was considered as unprecedented since the Liberation of 1944 (Dauncey & Dare, 2000). Because of this sense of joy and celebration, there might have been a concurrent decrease in the number of suicides; however, the effect of this major event has never been tested in terms of suicide mortality.…”

Temporal Disappointment, Homicide and Suicide: An Analysis of Nonwhites and Whites

“…Suicide tends to peak on Mondays for whites or the total population (e.g., Bollen 1983;Curtis et al 1986). Bollen (1983) found slight significant dips for nonwhite sui cides on Tuesdays and Thursdays compared with Sundays for 1972-1976.…”

The 1994–1995 Baseball and Hockey Strikes and their Impact on Suicide and Homicide Rates in the United States

“…(hopes) to feel .... In sum, a lAlthough comparing different age and sex groups in terms of interest in sports is important (Curtis et al, 1986;Gallup, 1992), age-sex specific data on suicide and homicide were unavailable at the time this research was conducted.…”

“…Although suicide and homicide rates have been examined in relation to specific sporting events such as the World Series and the Super Bowl (Phillips, 1983;Curtis, Loy, & Kamilowicz, 1986;Lester, 1988), absent from the literature is an examination of how strikes in professional sports are related to suicide and homicide rates. The examination of strikes in professional sports and suicide and homicide rates is pertinent to the sociology of sport because Americans enjoy, if not love, sports (Iso-Ahola & Hatfield, 1986;Gallup, 1992).…”