Citation

Clarke M. Soc. Sci. Med. 1994; 38(3): 401-407.

Affiliation

ICRF Cancer Studies Unit, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford University, U.K.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8153743

Abstract

According to the official statistics of the Registrar General, the first railway suicide occurred in 1852 and more than 10,000 suicides recorded during the period 1852-1949. Throughout this time the number of male cases always exceeded the number of female cases and the railway accounted for a greater proportion of male than female suicides in all but two years. By the early decades of the twentieth century, the railway was used in 5-6% of male suicides and 3-4% of female suicides. The incidence of railway suicide was correlated with the growth of the railway system offering some evidence for the relationship between availability of a lethal means and suicide rates.

Language: en