Citation

Park N, Peterson C. Appl. Psychol. Health Wellbeing 2014; 6(3): 318-323.

Affiliation

University of Michigan, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, International Association of Applied Psychology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/aphw.12030

PMID

24978186

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A recent study reported that the highest suicide rates in the US occurred in the happiest states. This is a counter-intuitive finding. The present research investigated whether the same result occurred when the unit of analysis was city. The association between happiness (of most) and suicide (by some) might differ in cities versus states because those in a city provide a more immediate influence.

METHODS: Suicide rates were examined in 44 large US cities as a function of the average happiness reported by residents.

RESULTS: According to our results, happier cities had lower suicide rates (Spearman's rho = -.37, p < .014), implying that cities may be a more meaningful unit of analysis than states for studies of suicide risk.

CONCLUSIONS: The appropriate geographical unit of analysis needs to be considered seriously in psychological studies.

Language: en