Citation

Bozsonyi K, Osvath P, Fekete S, Balint L. Crisis 2015; 37(2): 148-154.

Affiliation

Hungarian Central Statistical Office, Demographic Research Institute, Budapest, Hungary.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, International Association for Suicide Prevention, Publisher Hogrefe Publishing)

DOI

10.1027/0227-5910/a000352

PMID

26572906

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Several studies found a significant relationship between important sport events and suicidal behavior. AIMS: We set out to investigate whether there is a significant relationship between the raw suicide rate and the most important international sports events (Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship) in such an achievement-oriented society as the Hungarian one, where these sport events receive great attention.

METHOD: We examined suicide cases occurring over 15,706 days between January 1, 1970, and December 31, 2012 (43 years), separately for each gender. Because of the age-specific characteristics of suicide, the effects of these sport events were analyzed for the middle-aged (30-59 years old) and the elderly (over 60 years old) generations as well as for gender-specific population groups. The role of international sport events was examined with the help of time-series intervention analysis after cyclical and seasonal components were removed. Intervention analysis was based on the ARIMA model.

RESULTS: Our results showed that only the Olympic Games had a significant effect in the middle-aged population. Neither in the older male nor in any of the female age groups was a relationship between suicide and Olympic Games detected.

CONCLUSION: The Olympic Games seem to decrease the rate of suicide among middle-aged men, slightly but significantly.

Language: en