IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i13p8173-d855147.html

Predicting Suicide in Counties: Creating a Quantitative Measure of Suicide Risk

Author

Listed:
  • Kate Mobley

    (School of Data Science and Analytics, Kennesaw State University, 3391 Town Point Dr. NW, Suite 2400, MD 9104, Kennesaw, GA 30144, USA)

  • Gita Taasoobshirazi

    (School of Data Science and Analytics, Kennesaw State University, 3391 Town Point Dr. NW, Suite 2400, MD 9104, Kennesaw, GA 30144, USA)

Abstract

Rising rates of suicide over the past two decades have increased the need for wide-ranging suicide prevention efforts. One approach is to target high-risk groups, which requires the identification of the characteristics of these population sub-groups. This suicidology study was conducted using large-scale, secondary data to answer the question: using the research on suicide, are there variables studied at the community level that are linked to suicide and are measurable using quantitative, demographic data that are already collected and updated? Data on deaths from suicide in U.S. counties for the years 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 were analyzed using multiple regression, longitudinal regression, and cluster analysis. Results indicated that the suicide rate in a county can be predicted by measuring the financial stability of the residents, the quality of mental health in the county, and the economic opportunity in the county. The results are further analyzed using two sociological theories, Social Strain Theory and the Theory of Anomie, and two psychological theories, the Shame Model and the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide.

Suggested Citation

  • Kate Mobley & Gita Taasoobshirazi, 2022. "Predicting Suicide in Counties: Creating a Quantitative Measure of Suicide Risk," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-14, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:13:p:8173-:d:855147
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/13/8173/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/13/8173/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Benjamin W Nelson & Adam Pettitt & Jessica E Flannery & Nicholas B Allen, 2020. "Rapid assessment of psychological and epidemiological correlates of COVID-19 concern, financial strain, and health-related behavior change in a large online sample," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(11), pages 1-16, November.
    2. Xiang Liu & Yi Huang & Yuanyuan Liu, 2018. "Prevalence, distribution, and associated factors of suicide attempts in young adolescents: School-based data from 40 low-income and middle-income countries," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(12), pages 1-12, December.
    3. Daiane Borges Machado & Davide Rasella & Darci Neves dos Santos, 2015. "Impact of Income Inequality and Other Social Determinants on Suicide Rate in Brazil," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(4), pages 1-12, April.
    4. Minoiu, Camelia & Andres, Antonio Rodriguez, 2008. "The effect of public spending on suicide: Evidence from U.S. state data," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 237-261, February.
    5. Minjae Choi & Yo Han Lee, 2020. "Regional Variation of Suicide Mortality in South Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-8, July.
    6. Hsu, Chia-Yueh & Chang, Shu-Sen & Lee, Esther S.T. & Yip, Paul S.F., 2015. "“Geography of suicide in Hong Kong: Spatial patterning, and socioeconomic correlates and inequalities”," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 190-203.
    7. Laurie S. Goodman & Christopher Mayer, 2018. "Homeownership and the American Dream," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 32(1), pages 31-58, Winter.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ruri Okubo & Ryusuke Matsumoto & Eishi Motomura & Motohiro Okada, 2024. "Uncertainties of Economic Policy and Government Management Stability Played Important Roles in Increasing Suicides in Japan from 2009 to 2023," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(10), pages 1-18, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lin, Chien-Yu & Hsu, Chia-Yueh & Gunnell, David & Chen, Ying-Yeh & Chang, Shu-Sen, 2019. "Spatial patterning, correlates, and inequality in suicide across 432 neighborhoods in Taipei City, Taiwan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 20-34.
    2. Brice Kamguia & Enock Kojo Ayesu & Mélanie Djuikom, 2025. "Do ICTs Increase Suicide Rates? Evidence from OECD Countries," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(5), pages 16612-16636, November.
    3. Nikolaos Antonakakis & Rangan Gupta, 2017. "Is Economic Policy Uncertainty Related to Suicide Rates? Evidence from the United States," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 543-560, September.
    4. Andrés, Antonio R. & Halicioglu, Ferda, 2010. "Determinants of suicides in Denmark: Evidence from time series data," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(2-3), pages 263-269, December.
    5. Wang, Jia & Winters, John V. & Yuan, Weici, 2022. "Can legal status help unauthorized immigrants achieve the American dream? Evidence from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    6. Yamamura, Eiji & Andrés, Antonio R., 2011. "Does corruption affect suicide? Empirical evidence from OECD countries," MPRA Paper 31622, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Hurmeranta, Risto & Lyytikäinen, Teemu, 2025. "Nominal Loss Aversion in the Housing Market and Household Mobility," Working Papers 178, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    8. Hero Ashman & Seth Neumuller, 2020. "Can Income Differences Explain the Racial Wealth Gap: A Quantitative Analysis," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 35, pages 220-239, January.
    9. Lepinteur, Anthony & Menta, Giorgia & Waltl, Sofie R., 2025. "Equal price for equal place? Demand-driven racial discrimination in the housing market," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    10. Matsubayashi, Tetsuya & Ueda, Michiko, 2011. "The effect of national suicide prevention programs on suicide rates in 21 OECD nations," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(9), pages 1395-1400.
    11. Croux, Christophe & Jagtiani, Julapa & Korivi, Tarunsai & Vulanovic, Milos, 2020. "Important factors determining Fintech loan default: Evidence from a lendingclub consumer platform," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 270-296.
    12. Irish, Andrew & Murshid, Nadine S., 2020. "Suicide ideation, plan, and attempt among youth in Bangladesh: Incidence and risk factors," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    13. Jeanne Lafortune & Corinne Low, 2023. "Collateralized Marriage," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 252-291, October.
    14. Chia-Yueh Hsu & Shu-Sen Chang & Paul Yip, 2017. "Individual-, household- and neighbourhood-level characteristics associated with life satisfaction: A multilevel analysis of a population-based sample from Hong Kong," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(16), pages 3700-3717, December.
    15. Minea Rutar & Tibor Rutar, 2025. "Does economic freedom push people into suicide? New evidence from developing and developed societies, 1980–2019," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 84(2), pages 253-272, March.
    16. Joël Vonlanthen, 2023. "Interest rates and real estate prices: a panel study," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, Springer;Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, vol. 159(1), pages 1-25, December.
    17. Christian Dustmann & Bernd Fitzenberger & Markus Zimmermann, 2022. "Housing Expenditure and Income Inequality," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(645), pages 1709-1736.
    18. Eiji Yamamura, 2015. "Comparison of Social Capital's Effect on Consideration of Suicide between Urban and Rural Areas," ISER Discussion Paper 0933, Institute of Social and Economic Research, The University of Osaka.
    19. Francisco Gomes & Michael Haliassos & Tarun Ramadorai, 2021. "Household Finance," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 59(3), pages 919-1000, September.
    20. Anyikwa, Izunna & Hamman, Nicolene & Phiri, Andrew, 2018. "Persistence of suicides in G20 countries: SPSM approach to three generations of unit root tests," MPRA Paper 87790, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:13:p:8173-:d:855147. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.