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Attributes of Suicide in Females
Author(s) -
Bourque Linda B.,
Kraus Jess F.,
Cosand Beverly J.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1943-278x.1983.tb00010.x
Subject(s) - demography , suicide prevention , poison control , injury prevention , medicine , occupational safety and health , incidence (geometry) , marital status , etiology , human factors and ergonomics , gerontology , psychiatry , medical emergency , environmental health , population , physics , pathology , sociology , optics
Long‐term trends in suicides among females were investigated using data from Sacramento County, California. Of the 3,741 cases, 3,398 were Caucasian and 952 (25.4 percent) were females. These analyses focus on 837 Caucasian and Hispanic females. Female suicide rates in Sacramento County have increased gradually since 1925 with a corresponding decline in the male/female sex ratio. The suicide data suggest that a minimum of three types of female suicides can be identified and that the incidence of each type varies with the age of the women. Indicators that help in identifying cases and in tentatively describing an etiology include marital status, employment status and occupation, physical ill health, familial loss or disruption, and psychiatric symptoms.