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Relative Deprivation and Suicide Risk in South Korea

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  • Pak, Tae-Young
  • Choung, Youngjoo

Abstract

Psychosocial stress and the related biochemical response have been hypothesized as a potential mechanism underlying the link between relative deprivation and mortality. While suicide is known as the likely manifestation of severe mental illness, less is known about the effect that relative deprivation has on suicide risk. Using the 2012 to 2018 waves of the Korean Welfare Panel Study, we examined the association between relative deprivation in income and suicide risk among South Koreans aged 25 or older. Relative deprivation is assessed with the Yitzhaki index, Deaton index, and income rank within the reference group, and suicide risk is measured as suicidal ideation and suicide planning or attempt in the preceding year. Adjusted for absolute income and other socioeconomic characteristics, the odds ratios of reporting suicidal ideation for each 10000k KRW (8300 USD) increase in the Yitzhaki index were around 1.42 (95% CI: 1.08-1.87) to 1.72 (95% CI: 1.30-2.28). The estimated odds ratios were in the range of 1.70 (95% CI: 1.04-2.78) to 1.95 (95% CI: 1.26-3.02) for suicide planning or attempt. The association between relative deprivation in income and suicidal ideation was found significant only for men, not for women. The inferences were robust to various definitions of relative deprivation and reference group. Taken together, our findings suggest that relative deprivation in income is independently associated with higher odds of suicidal ideation and suicide planning or attempt over and above the effect of absolute income and material living conditions. Narrowing the income gap between individuals would be an effective policy response to a suicide epidemic in South Korea.

Suggested Citation

  • Pak, Tae-Young & Choung, Youngjoo, 2020. "Relative Deprivation and Suicide Risk in South Korea," MPRA Paper 103930, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:103930
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    2. Stark, Oded, 2021. "An optimal split of school classes," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 668-675.
    3. Oscar Claveria, 2022. "“Modelling the dynamic interaction between economic uncertainty, growth, unemployment and suicide”," AQR Working Papers 202206, University of Barcelona, Regional Quantitative Analysis Group, revised Jun 2022.
    4. Fawaz, Yarine & Lee, Junhee, 2022. "Rank comparisons amongst teenagers and suicidal ideation," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    5. Jie Zhang & Juncheng Lyu & Dorian A. Lamis, 2022. "Economic Development and Gender Ratio Change in Chinese Suicide Rates (1990–2017)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-8, November.
    6. Pak, Tae-Young, 2023. "Relative deprivation and financial risk taking✰," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PA).
    7. Stark, Oded, 2021. "Why reducing relative deprivation but not reducing income inequality might bring down COVID-19 infections," Journal of Government and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(C).
    8. Peng Peng & Hui Mao, 2023. "The Effect of Digital Financial Inclusion on Relative Poverty Among Urban Households: A Case Study on China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 165(2), pages 377-407, January.
    9. Claveria, Oscar, 2022. "Global economic uncertainty and suicide: Worldwide evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    10. Pak, Tae-Young & Babiarz, Patryk, 2022. "Relative Deprivation and Prosocial Behavior: Evidence from South Korea," MPRA Paper 115720, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Haar, Jarrod & O'Kane, Conor, 2022. "A post-lockdown study of burnout risk amongst New Zealand essential workers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    12. Sungik Kang & Hosung Woo & Ja-Hoon Koo, 2021. "Precarious Suicide Behavior According to Housing Price Gap: A Case Study on South Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-15, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Income inequality; Social comparison; Yitzhaki index; Suicidal ideation; Suicide planning; South Korea;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty

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