Early 20th Century Social Ecology of U.S. State Iq and Suicide Rates

Evidence From the Army Alpha and Beta Intelligence Test Data of Yerkes (1921)

Bibliographic Data

ID13917735
AuthorsMartin Voracek (0000-0001-6109-6155, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume35
Issue8
Pages1027-1030
Publication date2007-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Behavior and Personality An International Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0301-2212 • E-ISSN: 1179-6391
PublisherScientific Journal Publishers Limited (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2224/sbp.2007.35.8.1027
OpenAlexW2051332757
LanguageEN
Citations received1

Consistent with a number of facts from suicide research and an evolutionary view of suicidal behavior, positive ecological (group-level) correlations between contemporary suicide rates and intelligence level have been observed in several geographical (cross-national and within-nation) studies (e.g., Lester, 1993, 1995, 2003; Voracek, 2004, 2005a, 2005b, 2006a-h, 2007). The present research extended these accounts cross-temporally to a test of the social ecology of U.S. state IQ and suicide rates during the early 20th century. Analysis of historical state suicide rates (1913–24), along with validated state IQ figures derived from the Army Alpha and Beta Intelligence Test data of Yerkes (1921), showed a clear positive correlation of state IQ with suicide rates (independent of state wealth) across the USA, thus suggesting temporal stability of the effect

Cognition · Developmental psychology · Ecological study · Intelligence quotient · Medical emergency · Poison control · Political science · Psychiatry · Social ecology · Sociology · State (computer science · Suicide attempt · Suicide prevention · Suicide rates · Test (biology · Demography · Law · Medicine · Mental Health Research Topics · Psychology · Suicide and Self-Harm Studies · Ecology

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