Changes in Scottish suicide rates during the Second World War

Bibliographic Data

ID15378024
AuthorsRob Henderson (NHS Highland, corresponding author), Cameron Stark (0000-0003-1255-7415, University of Aberdeen), R W Humphry (0000-0003-3987-0284, University of the Highlands and Islands), Sivasubramaniam Selvaraj (University of the Highlands and Islands)
Year2006
Volume6
Issue1
Pages167-167
Publication date2006-06-23
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBMC Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1471-2458 • E-ISSN: 1471-2458
PublisherBioMed Central (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1186/1471-2458-6-167
PMID16796751
PMCIDPMC1526726
OpenAlexW2155569392
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited22

All age male and female suicide rates decreased in Scotland during World War II. However, once the general background decrease in suicide rates over the whole period is accounted for, the likelihood of suicide among the entire Scottish population during the Second World War was elevated. The overall decrease in suicide rates concealed large increases in younger male age groups during the War years, and an increase in male suicides recorded as due to the use of firearms. We conclude that the effects of war on younger people, reported in recent conflicts in Central Europe, were also seen in Scotland during the Second World War. The results support the findings of studies of recent conflicts which have found a heterogeneous picture with respect to age specific suicide rates during wartime

Biostatistics · Geography · Injury prevention · Logistic regression · Medical emergency · Occupational safety and health · Poison control · Population · Public health · Sociology · Suicide prevention · World War II · Demography · Gun Ownership and Violence Research · Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse · Medicine · Suicide and Self-Harm Studies · Epidemiology