Suicides in Los Angeles and Vienna: An Intercultural Study of Two Cities

Farberow, Norman L.; Simon, Maria D.

doi:10.2307/4593570

Cited by 49 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…There has been much controversy about the impact of the detoxification of domestic gas in England and Wales on the pronounced decrease in the suicide rate between 1963 and 1972 (1-4). A parallel evolution has been reported in Vienna (5) and Brisbane (6), but has not been found in other settings (3). Similar attempts have been made to relate the variation in prevalence of gun ownership (7-10) and in habits of barbiturate prescribing (6, 11) to changes in rates of completed suicides.…”

mentioning

confidence: 81%

Recent trends in methods of suicide

Moens

Loysch

Honggokoesoemo

et al. 1989

Acta Psychiatr Scand

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Trends in completed suicide by method were analysed for Belgium between 1968-1972 and 1978-1981, using the information reported on death certificates. Around 1980, hanging was the most preferred method of suicide in both sexes, followed by firearms in males and poisoning by solid and liquid substances in females. Between 1970 and 1980, rates for all but one method (domestic gas) increased. The largest changes among men were seen for firearms and for poisoning, accounting respectively for 43% and 33% of the overall increase. For women, 48% of the rise was attributable to poisoning and 24% to drowning. The choice of method was seen to be influenced by age: hanging and drowning were the preferred methods for older people, whereas poisoning was the most popular among younger adults. The male-female ratio decreased for firearms and was reversed for poisoning and drowning. These findings are compared with trends in other industrialized countries, and the possibilities for suicide prevention by reducing the firearms and poisoning rates are discussed.

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confidence: 81%

Recent trends in methods of suicide

Moens

Loysch

Honggokoesoemo

et al. 1989

Acta Psychiatr Scand

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“…Farberow and Simon 7 reported that among 100 suicide victims in Vienna and Los Angeles, six had a parent who had killed himself, a rate more than 88 times the expected rate. Robins et al 8 .…”

Section: Clinical Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetics of Suicide

Roy

Rylander

Sarchiapone

1997

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

109

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Suicidal behavior, like so much else in psychiatry, tends to cluster in families. Clinical studies show that a family history of suicide is associated with a raised risk of both attempts at suicide and completed suicide. Twin studies show that monozygotic twins have a greater concordance for suicidal behavior than dizygotic twins. Adoption studies also suggest that there may be genetic factors in suicide. Most recently, molecular genetic studies report that polymorphisms of the tryptophan hydroxylase gene are associated with suicidal behavior.

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“…These increases in suicide rates accompanied marked increases in the availability of firearms, which is a preferred, socioculturally accepted method of suicide in the United States (Marks, 1977). These data present a mirror image of the reductions in the suicide rates of Great Britain and Vienna when the availability of the most preferred method of suicide in those locales (toxic domestic gas) was reduced (Brown, 1979;Farberow & Simon, 1969) and thus provide further evidence that variations in suicide rates are affected by variations in the availability of preferred, socioculturally accepted methods of suicide. The suicide rates by other methods remained quite stable during the 1962-1975 time period, except for relatively small but consistent increases in the rates from poisoning by gases for white females, from hanging, strangulation, and suffocation by nonwhite males, and from poisoning by solids and liquids for nonwhite females.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Furthermore, variables such as perceptions of anomie (Boor, 1979a) and perceptions of internal-external control (Boor, 1979b) have been related to the recent increases in suicide rates. However, data from this and other studies (Brown, 1979;Farberow & Simon, 1969) suggest that the physical availability of the more culturally accepted methods of suicide is a major determinant of suicide rates.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Thus, a marked reduction in the physical availability of poisonous domestic gas, which had been "a traditional method of suicide that has been entrenched in the national culture for generations [Brown, 1979[Brown, , p. 1122," was related to a marked reduction in the suicide rate of Great Britain. Farberow and Simon (1969) in Vienna also reported decreases in suicide rates that paralleled reductions in the toxicity of domestic gas and concluded that it might be worthwhile to attempt to reduce the availability of other common methods of suicide.…”

Section: -03mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Methods of suicide and implications for suicide prevention

Boor

1981

J. Clin. Psychol.

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Examined annual variations in the methods used for suicide in the United States in recent years (1962‐1975) by sex and ethnic groups (white males, white females, nonwhite males, nonwhite females). Virtually all of the increase in United States suicide rates between 1962 and 1975 can be attributed to the increase in suicides by firearms. The increase in suicides by firearms, which occurred in all sex‐ethnic groups, accompanied marked increases in the availability of firearms, which is a preferred, socioculturally accepted method of suicide in the United States. These results present a mirror image of the reductions in suicide rates in Great Britain and Vienna when the availability of the most preferred method of suicide in those locales (toxic domestic gas) was reduced. The data from this and other studies suggest that the physical availability of the more culturally accepted methods of suicide is a major determinant of suicide rates and that suicides may be prevented by decreasing the availability of the most common methods of suicide to suicidal individuals.

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Suicides in Los Angeles and Vienna: An Intercultural Study of Two Cities

Cited by 49 publications

References 4 publications

Recent trends in methods of suicide

Recent trends in methods of suicide

Genetics of Suicide

Methods of suicide and implications for suicide prevention

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