Citation

Zhang J, Ma J, Jia C, Sun J, Guo X, Xu A, Li W. Eur. Psychiatry 2010; 25(3): 159-163.

Affiliation

Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China; State University of New York College, Buffalo, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2009.07.013

PMID

19926256

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: It is to estimate the trend of suicide rate changes during the past three decades in China and try to identify its social and economic correlates. METHODS: Official data of suicide rates and economic indexes during 1982-2005 from Shandong Province of China were analyzed. The suicide data were categorized for the rural / urban location and gender, and the economic indexes include GDP, GDP per capita, rural income, and urban income, all adjusted for inflation. RESULTS: We found a significant increase of economic development and decrease of suicide rates over the past decades under study. The suicide rate decrease is correlated with the tremendous growth of economy. CONCLUSION: The unusual decrease of Chinese suicide rates in the past decades is accounted for within the Chinese cultural contexts and maybe by the Strain Theory of Suicide.

Language: en