Suicide rates among working-age adults in South Korea before and after the 2008 economic crisis

Abstract

Changes in macroeconomic conditions are tied to population-level suicide risks for employed and unemployed persons. However, these associations vary depending on sex, employment status and occupational roles. In advance of future economic crises, it is important to develop prevention initiatives intended to reach the diverse populations potentially exposed to the adverse effects of sudden economic disruptions.

Sex-related differences in methods of and reasons for suicide in Turkey between 1990 and 2010

“…21 Suicide rates have been shown to increase during times of economic crisis 17,21 and to decrease concomitantly with decreasing economic problems. 26 In addition, an association between psychiatric disorders and unemployment has been reported. 21 In the present study, the most common reason for suicide in females between 1990 and 2010 was relationship problems.…”

Deprivation and suicide mortality across 424 neighborhoods in Seoul, South Korea: a Bayesian spatial analysis

“…Suicide is the only major leading cause of deaths in South Korea showing an increasing trend in age-standardized mortality rates during the most recent decade (Statistics Korea 2014). This rise in suicide deaths is known to be associated with the two economic crises in 1997 and 2008 and subsequent structural adjustment resulting in increased 'flexibility' of labor market and worsened income distributions (Khang et al 2005;Khang and Lynch 2010), and to the underdevelopment of social welfare in South Korea (Chang et al 2009;Kwon et al 2009;Khang and Lynch 2010;Kim et al 2010Kim et al , 2011Chan et al 2014). Since 2003, South Korea has recorded the highest suicide mortality rate among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries, showing a tenfold difference between Korea and Greece, which has the lowest suicide rate (OECD 2014).…”

Understanding the contribution of suicide to life expectancy in South Korea

“…Furthermore, the discrepancy in suicide death numbers between these data sources has been narrowing over the years (Kim et al 2010). On the other hand, the number of suicide deaths obtained from death certificates may be underestimated because families of the deceased may be reluctant to report suicide as the cause of death because of the stigma of suicide (Chan et al 2014). For instance, when faced with competing causes of death because of unclear intentions (e.g., car accidents versus suicide), families or doctors may prefer to classify deaths as being from nonsuicidal causes (Chan et al 2014).…”

“…On the other hand, the number of suicide deaths obtained from death certificates may be underestimated because families of the deceased may be reluctant to report suicide as the cause of death because of the stigma of suicide (Chan et al 2014). For instance, when faced with competing causes of death because of unclear intentions (e.g., car accidents versus suicide), families or doctors may prefer to classify deaths as being from nonsuicidal causes (Chan et al 2014). However, these concerns are not unique to our study, and we included a separate category for deaths of undetermined intent in order to examine how they changed from 1995 to 2010 and to account for the potential underestimation of suicide resulting from misclassification.…”