Facts and Myths about Seasonal Variation in Suicide

Dados Bibliográficos

ID13648398
AutoresMartin Voracek (0000-0001-6109-6155, University of Vienna, autor correspondente), Ulrich S Tran (0000-0002-6589-3167, University of Vienna), Gernot Sonneck (Medical University of Vienna)
Ano2007
Volume100
Fascículo3
Páginas810-814
Data de publicação2007-06-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoPsychological Reports (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0033-2941 • E-ISSN: 1558-691X
EditoraSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2466/pr0.100.3.810-814
PMID17688099
OpenAlexW2065111291
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas18

The prevalence of suicide presents a universal seasonal pattern. In the Northern hemisphere, suicides peak during spring and early summer and the trough occurs during winter. This peculiar pattern might be counterintuitive for everyday reasoning. Data from 1,093 medical and psychology undergraduates from Austria (382 men and 711 women; M age 25.0 yr., SD=6.6) indicated an almost perfectly reversed pattern of beliefs about suicide seasonality compared with the actual seasonal distribution. The vast majority of respondents believed the peak to be located in late autumn and early winter and the trough occurring in late spring and the summer months. Implications for education and practice are discussed

Injury prevention · Medical emergency · Mythology · Poison control · Suicide prevention · Variation (astronomy · History · Medicine · Mental Health Treatment and Access · Psychology · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments · Suicide and Self-Harm Studies