White male suicide rate could exceed Black male homicide victimisation rate within thirty years [View all]

National suicide rates were in decline in the United States until 2000. Since then they have steadily risen across the board; however the increase has been particularly prevalent amongst white males, particularly those aged 45-64 and those 85 years of age or older.

For white males in the US, the rate currently stands at 26 per 100 000, however, the statistic masks substantial discrepancies within that group. The suicide rate for so-called "white ethnics" - predominantly Catholic, Orthodox and Jewish men - has always been much lower than those for Protestants, a phenomenon first analysed a century ago in Durkheim's Suicide, the first modern sociological treatise. Still, the suicide rates for white men in America are now significantly higher than Europeans, even those living in Protestant countries.

By comparison, the male Black homicide victimisation rate stands at 32 per 100 000, a bleak statistic often cited by Black leaders as a disgrace and a national emergency. However, the long term decline in homicide in the US as well as the steady increase in suicide mean that a convergence between the two statistics is likely to take place in the next thirty years.

Another risk factor for suicide is living in a rural location. In predominantly Protestant, rural Montana, the male suicide rate is now 33 per 100 000, although this is attributable in part to a similarly high suicide rate amongst native Americans. The rate is so high that male Montanans are now at a greater risk of dying by gunshot wound than males in Puerto Rico, albeit that in Montana those gunshot wounds are almost universally self-inflicted. In some parts of Montana it is uncommon for students to complete high school without knowing at least one student, typically male, that has committed suicide.

In response to the high rate, the state government instituted a taskforce on suicide, but there is widespread acknowledgement that there are no easy fixes for the problem. The growth in suicide amongst middle-aged white men seems to be related largely to economic factors. Some parts of the country have seen not only the decline of the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, but also the service industries have continued to shed jobs, leaving many men without employment prospects.

At least some deaths in this category appear to be life insurance suicides, essentially a last-ditch attempt by despairing men to provide for their families when jobs are scarce. Perhaps unbeknownst to many such men, insurance companies frequently decline to pay out in instances where there are indications that the suicide was a deliberate rather than impulsive act, and therefore a breach of the insured's duty of disclosure.

The protective effect of religious practices against suicide has been well documented. However it appears that Protestantism (both mainline and evangelical) has less of a protective effect than other religions in this regard. Traditionally this was attributed to Catholic doctrinal aversions to suicide; however this overlooks the fact that Black Protestants have low rates of suicide, doctrinal similarities notwithstanding. A better explanation is that whereas Catholic, Orthodox and Jewish communities emphasise the importance of community, Protestantism generally focuses on the supremacy of the individual and his or her relationship with God. The growth of Protestant megachurches, which feature large, anonymous crowds in remote locations only accessible by car, and ministers that appear only as distant, charismatic figures rather than close family friends are typical of this religious tradition.

***********************

This is a cut and paste from an undergrad essay that was part of a presentation done at my old school's sociology department called "On Durkheim". I have permission from the author to repost. It was part of a larger paper but this part in particular stood out.