The worldwide demography of suicide and the influence of major economic indicators on suicide mortality

undergraduate thesis

• Title (croatian): Globalna demografija samoubojstava i utjecaj odabranih ekonomskih pokazatelja na mortalitet od samoubojstava
• Author: Mayya Horvat
• Mentor: Petra Međimurec (mentor); MBZ: 346971
• Committee member: Ivan Čipin (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Economics and Business; (Department of Demography); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2021-09-29, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: SOCIAL SCIENCES; Economics; General Economy

Abstract

Suicide is a global issue which affects up to 800 000 victims and their families every year. It is one of the dominant causes of death worldwide. As there are various factors influencing suicide mortality while many of them cannot be determined till the end it is difficult to perceive and grasp suicide mortality in general. In this undergraduate thesis suicide mortality is viewed through the demographic perspective and disclosed in geographic distribution, as well according to rural or urban differences, and by age and gender. It is important to state possible economic and non-economic factors of suicide mortality, the interrelation of economic factors and suicide and suggestions for future researches. Most of the suicides occur in low-to-middle income countries; however the highest suicide mortality rates are in high-income countries. GDP definitely affects suicide mortality but differently for developed and developing countries, taking into consideration other influencing factors of well-being and standards of living. The most vulnerable population segment to suicide are men at the age of 30 to 40 years and elderly of the age 65+, and it is the 4th leading cause of the young population (15-29 years old). In general, men tend to commit suicide more often than women with exceptions in South Asia (China and Bangladesh). Suicide in rural areas is greater than in urban zones mostly due to the access to means of suicide commitment. Non-economic risk factors for suicide (access to means, mental illness, bullying and social media) create a certain influence on suicide mortality and affects year numbers of suicide victims. World Health Organization has developed and keeps working on suicide prevention programs which all countries worldwide should consider to fight against stigma for suicide and mental health to lower the suicide mortality. Economic risk factors are influential on population. The economic instability whether it is positive or negative fluctuations tends to increasing suicide mortality. Researches show that the financial crisis of 2008 and economic recessions negatively affect suicide mortality worldwide except a few outliers. The COVID-19 pandemic is another challenge for all of us and especially for vulnerable groups and potential suicide victims. Due to social isolation, uncertainty and financial loss there were stated first suicides due to the pandemic. It is crucial to conduct further researches on suicide mortality and its correlation with economic indicators for suicide prevention.

• Keywords: suicide mortality; financial crisis; risk factors; suicide prevention
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:148:472373
• Study programme: Title: Business Economics in English; Study programme type: university; Study level: undergraduate; Academic / professional title: sveučilišni/a prvostupnik/ prvostupnica(baccalaureus/ baccalaurea) ekonomije (sveučilišni/a prvostupnik/ prvostupnica(baccalaureus/ baccalaurea) ekonomije)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Access restricted to students and staff of home institution
• Created on: 2021-10-03 18:19:10