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The Effects of Education, Social Class and Income on Non-alcohol- and Alcohol-Associated Suicide Mortality: A Register-based Study of Finnish Men Aged 25–64

Author

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  • Netta E. Mäki

    (University of Helsinki)

  • Pekka T. Martikainen

    (University of Helsinki
    University of Helsinki)

Abstract

This study aimed to analyse the effects of different socioeconomic indicators on non-alcohol-associated and alcohol-associated suicide in Finland. The data used comprised the 1990 census records for men who were 25–64-years old linked to the death register for 1991–2001. Poisson regression was used to calculate the adjusted relative mortality rates. There were 6,452 suicides among the study population, and in 42% of them alcohol intoxication was a contributory cause. Education, occupation-based social class and household income were inversely and strongly related to suicide regardless of the link with alcohol. For non-alcohol-associated suicide, the effect of education was largely mediated by social class and income, the effect of social class was partly explained by education and partly mediated by income, and the effect of income was rather small after adjustment for the other two indicators. When alcohol was involved, social class mediated a large part of educational effect, but a strong association also remained. Respectively, education explained a large proportion of the social class differences. Income had a minor effect. Adjustment for employment status explained some of the income differences, but living arrangements had little effect. The findings imply that low social class is associated with increased suicide risk regardless of employment status, and that the roots of socioeconomic differences in alcohol-associated suicide lie in early adulthood when education and health behavioural patterns are set. This casts some doubt on claims that current material factors are the main drivers of socioeconomic differences in suicide.

Suggested Citation

  • Netta E. Mäki & Pekka T. Martikainen, 2008. "The Effects of Education, Social Class and Income on Non-alcohol- and Alcohol-Associated Suicide Mortality: A Register-based Study of Finnish Men Aged 25–64," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 24(4), pages 385-404, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eurpop:v:24:y:2008:i:4:d:10.1007_s10680-007-9147-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10680-007-9147-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lynch, J. W. & Kaplan, G. A. & Salonen, J. T., 1997. "Why do poor people behave poorly? Variation in adult health behaviours and psychosocial characteristics by stages of the socioeconomic lifecourse," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 44(6), pages 809-819, March.
    2. Sorlie, P.D. & Backlund, E. & Keller, J.B., 1995. "US mortality by economic, demographic, and social characteristics: The National Longitudinal Mortality Study," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 85(7), pages 949-956.
    3. Irma T. Elo & Pekka Martikainen & Kirsten P. Smith, 2006. "Socioeconomic differentials in mortality in Finland and the United States: the role of education and income," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 22(2), pages 179-203, June.
    4. Mackenbach, Johan P. & Kunst, Anton E., 1997. "Measuring the magnitude of socio-economic inequalities in health: An overview of available measures illustrated with two examples from Europe," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 44(6), pages 757-771, March.
    5. Ringbäck Weitoft, Gunilla & Burström, Bo & Rosén, Måns, 2004. "Premature mortality among lone fathers and childless men," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(7), pages 1449-1459, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Pavlo Buryi & Scott Gilbert, 2014. "Effects of college education on demonstrated happiness in the United States," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(18), pages 1253-1256, December.
    2. Mäki, Netta & Martikainen, Pekka, 2009. "The role of socioeconomic indicators on non-alcohol and alcohol-associated suicide mortality among women in Finland. A register-based follow-up study of 12 million person-years," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 2161-2169, June.

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