People in happier countries more likely to commit suicide
By Keith Bonnell, Postmedia News April 26, 2011
Is being surrounded by happiness driving some people to kill themselves?
It's the suggestion being raised by a new international study that's found people living in some of the world's happiest countries -including Canada -are more likely to commit suicide.
The troubling paradox is explored in work from researchers at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom and Hamilton College in New York.
They say that a number of countries, including Canada, the United States, Iceland, Ireland and Switzerland, have "relatively high happiness levels," but also notably high suicide rates.
They suggest people struggling with self-esteem may get even more discouraged when they see others around them thriving.
"Human beings are creatures of comparison," Prof. Andrew Oswald from the University of Warwick told Postmedia News.
"(It could be that) if you feel very low with your life, it's very dangerous to be surrounded by happy people."
While the study focused on American states, Oswald said the results hold true in the Canadian suicide numbers, which he called "surprisingly high," given how well this country does on measures that indicate citizens' overall wellbeing.
The research paper is titled Dark Contrasts: The Paradox of High Rates of Suicide in Happy Places, and it's been accepted for publication in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization.
Canada had a suicide rate of about 23 people per 100,000, in data from 2002 that the researchers supplied.
That puts it near the middle of the pack for western countries.
However, Canada's happiness ranking was higher, in the top 20 per cent of surveyed countries.
Oswald said the study may complement pre-existing -and disputed -research that has shown suicide rates decrease when countries are at war.
"In wartime, people, even if they're depressed themselves, know that others are having difficulties in their lives."
He said it just goes to show how human beings are social creatures, always inclined to compare their own situation with that of those around them.
"It would be better if we compared less," he said.
He said he's not sure how the research can help those working in the field of suicide prevention, other than to perhaps point them toward examining the comparisons distraught people are making in their lives.
The researchers stressed that, because of cultural differences -some countries are more likely to officially record suicides than others -their international data are only "suggestive."
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Pe...mmit+suicide/4674176/story.html#ixzz1LmMdrFJA
By Keith Bonnell, Postmedia News April 26, 2011
Is being surrounded by happiness driving some people to kill themselves?
It's the suggestion being raised by a new international study that's found people living in some of the world's happiest countries -including Canada -are more likely to commit suicide.
The troubling paradox is explored in work from researchers at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom and Hamilton College in New York.
They say that a number of countries, including Canada, the United States, Iceland, Ireland and Switzerland, have "relatively high happiness levels," but also notably high suicide rates.
They suggest people struggling with self-esteem may get even more discouraged when they see others around them thriving.
"Human beings are creatures of comparison," Prof. Andrew Oswald from the University of Warwick told Postmedia News.
"(It could be that) if you feel very low with your life, it's very dangerous to be surrounded by happy people."
While the study focused on American states, Oswald said the results hold true in the Canadian suicide numbers, which he called "surprisingly high," given how well this country does on measures that indicate citizens' overall wellbeing.
The research paper is titled Dark Contrasts: The Paradox of High Rates of Suicide in Happy Places, and it's been accepted for publication in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization.
Canada had a suicide rate of about 23 people per 100,000, in data from 2002 that the researchers supplied.
That puts it near the middle of the pack for western countries.
However, Canada's happiness ranking was higher, in the top 20 per cent of surveyed countries.
Oswald said the study may complement pre-existing -and disputed -research that has shown suicide rates decrease when countries are at war.
"In wartime, people, even if they're depressed themselves, know that others are having difficulties in their lives."
He said it just goes to show how human beings are social creatures, always inclined to compare their own situation with that of those around them.
"It would be better if we compared less," he said.
He said he's not sure how the research can help those working in the field of suicide prevention, other than to perhaps point them toward examining the comparisons distraught people are making in their lives.
The researchers stressed that, because of cultural differences -some countries are more likely to officially record suicides than others -their international data are only "suggestive."
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Pe...mmit+suicide/4674176/story.html#ixzz1LmMdrFJA
