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Citation |
Värnik A, Tooding LM, Palo E, Wasserman D. Arch. Suicide Res. 2003; 7(1): 51-59. |
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Affiliation |
Estonian-Swedish Institute of Suicidology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tartu University, Estonia; Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs, Tallinn, Estonia; Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2003, International Academy of Suicide Research, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
unavailable |
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Abstract |
The three Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - were studied in two sociopolitically divergent periods. The first was the stagnation period under the Soviet regime in 1970-1984. The second was the period of democratic reforms that started in 1985, with encouraging political changes, ensuing difficulties associated with the change-over to the market economy from 1989; and finally stabilization in 1994-1998. The results of our study supported the hypothesis that suicide and homicide are affected by sociopolitical and economic conditions. Durkheim's suicide theory affords an explanation of the stable high suicide rate during stagnation period and the subsequent S-shaped suicide trend (fall-rise fall) during the reform period. However, the parallel suicide and homicide trends in the Baltic States do not tally with the postulates of Durkheim and Henry and Short regarding the inverse correlation of suicide and homicide at various levels of external restraints and with the varying state of the economy. |