By the way, if you happen to be contemplating suicide yourself consider:
http://www.befrienders.org
it's got a directory of support services in over 40 countries, information on support by e-mail, and translations into 8 languages including Chinese and Arabic
Relative rates - Higher in Japan, but generally lower among Asian Americans. -------------------------------------------- US Elderly W1.0 A "highest" US/ Japn W1.0 A 1.6 US Teen W1.00 B-1.9 A-1.95 CA State W1.0 B-1.8 H-3.0 A-2.7 O-2.3 SF W1.0 B-2.2 H-12.7 A-3.6 Suicide Spectrum Deaths per 100,000 people, 1985 Suicide Index USMale 20 24.0 France 21.30 1.7 MIT 21.2 Katharyn Jeffries Japan 19.60 1.6 Japan 98 17.2 W Germany 18.60 1.5 USArmy 15.5 USAToday Marines 15.0 20-24 US 13.6 Natl Inst Mental Health USA 12.20 1.0 Navy 11.0 USAToday Us Milit 10-14 Britain 8.50 -1.43 US AirFor 5.6 USAToday @@black clip\96\05\blaksuic.txt Date: Tue, 23 Jul 1996 07:22:54 -0400 From: NewsHound@sjmercury.com (NewsHound) Suicides up for young black men Rates increased 63 % between 1980 and '93, statistics show By Fern Shen Washington Post @@china \clip\96\04\worldeat.txt Date: Sun, 15 Sep 1996 15:48:09 -0400 From: NewsHound@sjmercury.com (NewsHound) Fatal Germs Being Surpassed by Other Causes of Death By LAURAN NEERGAARD Associated Press Writer In China, injuries constitute 17 percent of the health burden, including a staggering 180,000 women a year who kill themselves in what scientists call Asia's ``suicide belt.'' @@College z54\clip\2002\01\mitsuic.txt http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/01/25/usat-mit.htm 01/24/2002 - Updated 11:25 PM ET Suicide at MIT raises parents' ire By Rochelle Sharpe, special for USA TODAY "About 30% of colleges reported at least one student suicide. At MIT alone, 12 students have committed suicide since 1990." http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/103/metro/Student_burned_in_reported_suicide_attempt_at_MIT+.shtml z41\clip\2000\05\jump.txt Student burned in reported suicide attempt at MIT By David Abel, Globe Correspondent and John Ellement Globe Staff, 4/12/2000 According to Katharyn Jeffries, an MIT junior who researched suicides for the campus newspaper, there are 21.2 suicides for every 100,000 undergraduate student years, a figure used to compare suicide rates among different populations. The national average among all people between the ages of 20 and 24, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, is about one-third lower, or 13.6 per 100,000. @@elderly \doc\96\03\aswmheal.txt National Asian Women's Health Organization announcement, Asian Week Nov 17, 1996 p. 14 - Elderly Chinese and Japanse American women have the highest suicide rate of all racial and ethnic groups @@Executives \clip\97\16\japnsuic.txt June 24, 1997 Executive suicides on the rise in Japan TOKYO (AP) National Police Agency said Tuesday. 478 executives killed themselves last year, up from 411 the previous year. @@gay http://www.glsen.org/pages/sections/news/chaseremarks z45\clip\2000\10\chase.txt Remarks Bob Chase, NEA President For The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network Chicago, Illinois October 7, 2000 the Massachusetts Department of Education found that gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth are four times more likely than heterosexual students to commit suicide. @@general http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/digest/nat2.htm \clip\97\04\youtviol.txt Washington Post For Children, an Epidemic of Homicide By Judith Havemann Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, February 7, 1997; Page A01 * The suicide rate alone for children age 14 and younger was double that of the rest of the industrialized world, the agency said. *since 1950 in the United States, childhood homicide rates tripled and suicide rates quadrupled. * Children committed suicide using methods other than firearms at about the same rate in the United States as in the other 25 countries. @@Japan SUICIDE IS HONORABLE EVEN FOR CHILDREN \zip36\clip\99\14\japansu.txt Rate of suicides among children in Tokyo nearly doubles Seattle Times May 4, 1999 p. A10 AP 74 under 18 vs 40 in 1998. 24 high school, 10 jr hi, 3 elementary, 37 late teens not in school. 45 male, 29 female. "In japan, suicide is seen as an honorable way to escape life's difficulties and a way to accept responsibility on the behalf of others". 17.2 per 100,000 is among highest national rate. @@Method Suicide in the U.S.A.: 1994American Association of Suicidology. \clip\98\04\suicide\SuicideStats.html Methods of Suicide: Detailed (1994 data) National Figures Method Percent of Total (31,142 Number of suicides total) Suicides Firearms and explosives 60.3% 18,778 Hanging, strangulation, suffocation 15.2% 4,745 Solid & Liquid Poisons 10.4% 3,229 Gas Poisons 6.6% 2,044 All Other Methods 7.5% 2,346 ----------------------------------------------------------- Most frequent suicide methods in Washington State in 1996: Rank Number Method 1. 447 Guns 2. 98 Hanging 3. 90 Drugs 4. 58 Car Exhaust 5. 29 Jumping from height 6. 15 Suffocation 7. 13 Knives / Sharp Objects 8. 8 Drowning 9. 7 Jumping / Lying in front of moving object 10. 4 Fire As cited by Seattle Times Feb 2, 1998 p. B2 Sources: state center for Health Statistics; analysis by Seattle Times researcher Vince Kueter. @@military More soldiers die from suicide than from combat, but the rate is lower than a comparable demographic in civilian life. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washdc/ncsmon09.htm z42\clip\2000\07\armysuic.txt USA Today 06/13/00 More soldiers are committing suicide 24.0 civilian white male 20s 15.5 Army 15.0 Marine Corps 11.0 Navy 5.6 Air Force 65 confirmed, 12 suspected suicides in 1999 In the Army, second-leading cause of death, after accidents, about 10 times as many troops have died at their own hand as from hostile fire. \doc\95\04\milsuic.txt "Military conducting anti-suicide campaign" Seattle Times 5/19/96 p. A1 Neil A Lewis. Walter Reed Army Institute says that the military ranges from 10 to 14 per 100,000 population, no different than the general population, but study by Dr. Joseph Rothberg in JAMA 1990 showed that for age, race and gender, the suicide rate is much lower, probably due to focus and complete rate of employment. F052496 @@Statistics Suicide in the U.S.A.: 1994American Association of Suicidology. \clip\98\04\suicide\SuicideStats.html 31,142 suicides per year in 1994 all but 6000 were men Average of 1 person every 16.9 minutes killed themselves Average of 1 old person every 1 hour 27.6 minutes killed themselves Average of 1 young person every 1 hour 46.1 minutes killed themselves (If the 322 suicides below age 15 are included, 1 young person every 1 hour 39.6 minutes) 9th ranking cause of death in U.S.; 14th for old; 3rd for young 4.2 male completions for each female completion Old made up 12.7% of 1993 population but committed 19.3% of the suicides Young were 13.8% of 1993 population and committed 15.9% of the suicides http://www.sfsuicide.org/stats.html \clip\98\04\sfstat\stats.html San Francisco Suicide Prevention Website 2/98 #8 cause of death Men account for 80% of all suicides in the United States. Generally, women are more likely than men to make suicide attempts, as over 50% of suicide attempts are made by women. However, men are much more likely to be successful at killing themselves as they choose more lethal methods of suicide. @@teen SINCE 1950 CHILD HOMICIDE UP 3X SUICIDE UP 4X Rand Corporation Children and Welfare: Investing in What Works (1997) http://www.rand.org/publications/RRR/RRR.spring97.children/welfare.html For children between 5 and 15, homicide rates have tripled and suicide rates have quadrupled since 1950. (USA) \clip\96\08\whoswho.txt AP 13-Nov-1996 Teenager Survey on Immigration Issue Survey of "Who's Who Among American High School Students" 72% female 79% white 26% considered suicide 4% tried suicide 10% date rape victims 25% of rape victims tried suicide d:\doc\94\20\teensuic.wk1 - Teen suicide by Race Overall W1.00 B-1.91 A-1.95 Male W1.00 B-1.83 A-1.57 Female W1.00 B-2.30 \doc\doc934\suicide.xls San Francisco Health Dept white black chinese other total 1988 130 14 1 4 6 162 percent 0.80 0.09 0.09 0.04 1.00 pop 0.46 0.11 0.18 0.27 index 1.74 -2.20 -3.55 -12.72 \doc\doc938\lifeexpec.xls Source: World Health Organization Deaths per 100,000 people, 1985 Heart Lung Stomach Disease Strokes Cancer Cancer Suicide Index France 74.40 79.80 31.70 11.60 21.30 1.7 Japan 45.00 123.60 25.00 42.90 19.60 1.6 W Germany 167.00 104.50 34.60 18.80 18.60 1.5 USA 229.80 62.80 52.00 6.10 12.20 1.0 Britain 243.30 104.30 57.70 16.00 8.50 -1.43 doc938\death1.xls CA B-1.8 H-3.0 A-2.7 O-2.3 CA State rates %%Asian z39\clipim\99\12\12\pressure.efx Asian Youths feel pressure of two cultures Boston Globe, sometime in 1985? Cambodians and SE Asians have high rate of suicide in high school and college. Most are female, torn between strict Asian mores of no dating from Asian culture, and loosening up from popular culture. 7 of 109 Cambodian students at South Boston High attempted suicide one year.