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The data seems to point towards a much more likely correlation, rural areas seem to have a higher rate of suicide. How else does Oklahoma and West Virginia get

The data seems to point towards a much more likely correlation, rural areas seem to have a higher rate of suicide. How else does Oklahoma and West Virginia get explained? It'd be much better to break the data down by county. Even still, it's all probably just correlation. Another take: http://www.dailyyonder.com/booze-guns-and-rise-rural-suicides/2009/09/22/2358 http://www.dailyyonder.com/booze-guns-and-rise-rural-suicide...

jschwartzi 12y ago
The article implies that the location is causative, IE that living in mountainous, rural regions causes depressive symptoms. You could also make the argument that people with depressive symptoms might be drawn to mountainous, rural regions. I don't have any hard evidence or a citation to back this up, but someone once suggested to me that the reason suicide rates are higher in Western, "frontier" states is that people with mood disorders might tend to migrate away from population centers. Population density is highest on the East Coast, decreases through the Midwest, and reaches its nadir in the Rockies. Then it increases again as you reach the West Coast. I think we could explain their data using that correlation alone. Based on what I'm reading from the article, I'd say my theory is about as strongly supported as theirs based on the available evidence.
- sswaner 12y ago
  I am not certain that population density reaches its nadir in the Rockies. In those states (Utah and Colorado in particular), the population is clustered in towns and cities along the Wasatch and Rocky Mountain ranges. In the midwest there is a more rural distribution. It would be interesting to look at suicide rates by population density at level lower than state or county.
- superuser2 12y ago
  This could very easily be ruled out by examining whether the people in the sample were raised in those places or moved there as adults.
glibgil 12y ago
The majority of Utah residents, like 90%, live in urban and suburban areas. It is not a particularly rural state.
DanBC 12y ago
Rural areas tend to have more risk factors -- social isolation; elderly population; poor population; access to means and methods (In England farmers have access to shotguns; vets have access to meds); etc. Risk of suicide in rural areas tends to be higher even if the total numbers are smaller. http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/california-cause-of-death-by-age-and-gender http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/california-cause-of-death... That site has some nice data to noodle around with.

jschwartzi 12y ago

The article implies that the location is causative, IE that living in mountainous, rural regions causes depressive symptoms. You could also make the argument that people with depressive symptoms might be drawn to mountainous, rural regions. I don't have any hard evidence or a citation to back this up, but someone once suggested to me that the reason suicide rates are higher in Western, "frontier" states is that people with mood disorders might tend to migrate away from population centers. Population density is highest on the East Coast, decreases through the Midwest, and reaches its nadir in the Rockies. Then it increases again as you reach the West Coast. I think we could explain their data using that correlation alone. Based on what I'm reading from the article, I'd say my theory is about as strongly supported as theirs based on the available evidence.

sswaner 12y ago
I am not certain that population density reaches its nadir in the Rockies. In those states (Utah and Colorado in particular), the population is clustered in towns and cities along the Wasatch and Rocky Mountain ranges. In the midwest there is a more rural distribution. It would be interesting to look at suicide rates by population density at level lower than state or county.
superuser2 12y ago
This could very easily be ruled out by examining whether the people in the sample were raised in those places or moved there as adults.

glibgil 12y ago

The majority of Utah residents, like 90%, live in urban and suburban areas. It is not a particularly rural state.

DanBC 12y ago

Rural areas tend to have more risk factors -- social isolation; elderly population; poor population; access to means and methods (In England farmers have access to shotguns; vets have access to meds); etc. Risk of suicide in rural areas tends to be higher even if the total numbers are smaller. http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/california-cause-of-death-by-age-and-gender http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/california-cause-of-death... That site has some nice data to noodle around with.