State and Regional Suicide Rates: A New Look at an Old Puzzle

Abstract

U.S. suicide rates vary across the states and are higher in the American West than in other regions. Reasons for these patterns have eluded social scientists. This research note examines whether residential stability and population density as ecological contexts for social integration help explain the patterns. Refiecting Durkheimian reasoning, results suggest that residential stability helps explain both the high Western suicide rate and state suicide rates more generally. Final remarks address the theoretical and empirical implications of the findings.Suicide rates vary widely across the United States and exhibit a distinct regional pattern. In what has been called "a sharp east-west divide" (Breault 1994:19), the Western states have the highest suicide rates and the Eastern states the lowest.These differences remain a theoretical and empirical puzzle. Focusing on variation in state, suicide rates and the East-West divide, scholars have offered several explanations, many of them derived from Durkheim's Suicide. However, mixed findings leave it unclear why suicide rates vary across the states and why the American West has the highest regional rate. This research note attempts to understand these differences by emphasizing two neglected areal variables in the study of suicide: residential stability and population density.

Adolescents in crisis: A geographic exploration of help-seeking behavior using data from Crisis Text Line

“…Residential stability is often measured using the portion of the population that has recently moved and the portion of housing that is renter-occupied housing (Cutchin and Churchill, 1999;Messer et al, 2006;Barkan et al, 2013). In an attempt to explain the east-to-west divide in suicide rates, one study found an association between residential instability and suicide rate (Barkan et al, 2013).…”

“…Demographic variables included race, ethnicity, divorce, single parent homes, population density, and Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (RUCC) (Sen, 2004;Hempstead, 2006;Akhtar-Danesh and Landeen, 2007;Alegria et al, 2015;Fontanella et al, 2015;VanderWielen, et al 2015;Nestor et al, 2016). Residential stability was measured using renter-occupied homes and individuals living in a different home during the past twelve months (Cutchin and Churchill, 1999;Barkan et al, 2013). Latitude and mean annual global horizontal irradiance (GHI, kWh/m²/day) were used to explore the influence of climate and sunlight on help-seeking behavior for mental distress.…”

“…Prior research has found increased mental health issues for both divorced individuals (Hempstead, 2006;Akhtar-Danesh and Landeen, 2007) and adolescents with divorced parents (Merikangas et al, 2011). Divorce has also been associated with increased suicide rates at the state and regional level in the U.S. (Barkan et al, 2013).…”

“…Crisis hotlines have demonstrated effectiveness at reducing crisis severity, feelings of hopelessness, and suicidality Gould et al, 2007). Prior research has demonstrated that a variety of demographic, socioeconomic, and environmental factors can influence the prevalence and severity of mental distress and whether an individual is likely to receive treatment (Barkan et al, 2013;Reiss, 2013;Fontanella et al, 2015;VanderWielen et al, 2015;Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2016;Nestor et al, 2016). The present study seeks to evaluate whether these same disparities exist for a ubiquitous, technology-based crisis counseling service.…”

“…Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to mental distress-approximately one-half of chronic mental health disorders begin by the age of fourteen, and three-quarters begin by the age of twenty-four . Populations with a history of being underserved (i.e., those with lower socioeconomic status, racial and ethnic minorities, and individuals living in rural areas) experience elevated risk for mental distress and are less likely to receive treatment or engage in help-seeking behavior (Barkan et al, 2013;Reiss, 2013;Fontanella et al, 2015;VanderWielen et al, 2015;Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2016;Nestor et al, 2016).…”