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

Can Sports Events Affect Suicidal Behavior?

“…Three studies focused on completed suicide as the outcome (Curtis et al, 1986;Joiner et al, 2006;Trovato, 1998), four studies on suicide and homicide (Fernquist, 2000(Fernquist, , 2001(Fernquist, , 2002Lester, 1988), and two on nonfatal suicidal behavior (Masterton & Strachan, 1987;Steels, 1994). Curtis et al (1986) compared observed and expected frequencies of suicides over the period of 1972-1978 from 3 days before, 3 days after, and on the day of a range of ceremonial events in the U.S.…”

“…All studies were recently published, between 1986 and 2006. Six studies were done in the US (Curtis, Loy, & Karnilowicz, 1986; Fernquist, 2000, 2001, 2002; Joiner, Hollar, & van Orden, 2006; Lester, 1988), two in the UK (Masterton & Strachan, 1987; Steels, 1994), and one in Canada (Trovato, 1998). The sports studied were American football (Super Bowl), baseball, soccer, hockey, and basketball.…”

“…Durkheim's (1897) theory of suicide combined both social integration and anomie to explain the occurrence of suicide. In addition, several authors have argued that his concepts and theories regarding rituals, ceremonies, and religion (Durkheim, 1912(Durkheim, /1965) are applicable to sports events (Birrell, 1981;Fernquist, 2000Fernquist, , 2002Pope, 2008). There is empirical evidence showing that civil, political, and religious ceremonies, including presidential elections (Boor, 1981;Masterton & Platt, 1989;Phillips & Feldman, 1973), national holidays (Phillips & Liu, 1980;Phillips & Wills, 1987), and religious holidays (Bergen & Hawton, 2007;Jessen, Jensen, Arensman, Bille-Brahe, Crepet et al, 1999;Phillips & King, 1988) are linked to lower suicide and overall mortality rates (i.e., a "death dip") and lower rates of attempted suicide.…”

“…In relation to sports events, failures of teams, particularly if repeated and in relation to important outcomes (e.g., not winning a championship vs. not making the playoffs), might constitute a "broken promise" leading to dysphoric and suicidal moods in individuals who deeply identify with the teams (Fernquist, 2000). An analysis of suicide (and homicide) rates after strikes in sports (Fernquist, 2002) and geographical relocation of professional teams (Fernquist, 2001) showed a more complex picture of the broken-promise effect in sports. Apparently, the source of the disappointment should be taken into consideration.…”

Spectator Sport and Population Health: A Scoping Study

“…Another factor that impinges on the health benefits of sport spectatorship may be the psychological states of spectators, such as their motivation for event attendance (Wang, Min, & Kim, 2013), levels of emotional investment in a sport team (Chien & Ross, 2012), and nature of passion for supporting the team (Vallerand et al, 2008). Moreover, the findings of studies on suicide and crime seem to suggest that sport events' impact on personal engagement in those behaviors may vary among types of specific behaviors examined (Fernquist, 2002) and social environments surrounding people (Trovato, 1998). Confirming the effects of these potential conditional factors as well as identifying other factors should allow future researchers to provide clearer implications for the role of spectator services in population health.…”