Scottish men twice as likely to take their own lives
THE shocking scale of Scotland’s struggle with suicide has been laid bare in a new report which reveals men north of the Border are almost twice as likely to take their own life than those living in England and Wales.
The study is expected to lead to calls for more support for people feeling isolated, depressed and vulnerable.
Over the course of the last two decades the rate of suicide among Scottish men has risen, while south of the Border it has fallen. The study shows that in Scotland the male suicide rate is 31 per 100,000, against a rate of 17 per 100,000 south of the Border.
Scottish women – while not as prone to suicide as men – are also more likely to take their own lives than those in England and Wales, the study found.
And while suicides started to fall among all groups during the last decade, the picture has worsened since 2008 and the start of the economic crisis.
The research was carried out by the universities of Manchester and Edinburgh and the Medical Research Council’s Social and Public Health Sciences Unit in Glasgow. It was funded by the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government and published online by the British Journal of Psychiatry.
The study, “Trends in national suicide rates for Scotland and for England & Wales”, is the latest to paint a disturbing picture of Scotland’s mental health.
Last year a survey revealed more than a quarter of young Scots were so depressed they had contemplated suicide.
Others turned to drink or drugs in the face of serial rejection and bleak prospects, according to The Future You, an online mentoring service.
Again, the figures in Scotland were worse than England and Wales, with 28 per cent contemplating taking their own life north of the Border, compared to 25 in the south, the survey found.
The Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) has estimated that poor mental health is now costing Scotland more than £10 billion a year, by keeping people out of work, putting pressure on the NHS, and also hitting police, housing and other services.
“There has been a marked increase in young adult male suicide across Great Britain since the late 1960s, particularly in Scotland,” the latest study said.
“Further analysis by ten-year age strata revealed that the rise in male suicide was particularly pronounced among those aged 15 to 34 years. Suicide among young Scottish women also rose overall between 1968 and 2008, but at a much slower rate than for Scottish men.”
“Socioeconomic deprivation and unemployment have previously been shown to be associated with increases in suicide risks, and variations in these factors may therefore have contributed to the differences in suicide rates [between Scotland and England].”
It added: “Heavy drinking has been shown to increase risk of suicide, irrespective of other psychiatric disorders.
“It is, therefore, possible that any between-country variations in the patterns of alcohol consumption may have contributed to the differentials in suicide risks. Further investigation is needed to determine the importance of these social and behavioural factors, and why they seem to have a particularly strong impact on suicide risk among young Scottish men.”
Professor Stephen Platt, of the Centre for Population Health Sciences at Edinburgh University, which contributed to the study, agreed that tackling Scotland’s problem with alcohol could help lower suicide rates.
“Reducing alcohol consumption should lead to a reduction in suicides,” he said.
“Minimum pricing could be a preventative measure. It’s not being sold as that, but potentially it would be.
“Anything that reduces alcohol consumption does not just have an effect on violence, antisocial behaviour and lost work hours, but it will also help decrease the risk of fatal and non-fatal suicide attempts.”
Margaret Watt, chairwoman of the Scotland Patients Association, warned more must be done to support people who are struggling.
“People feel they’re not being listened to,” she said.
“We had a boy whose sister called us to say he was contemplating suicide and had tried to seek help but felt he had been turned away.
“I think they’re forgotten people in some ways and we need to do more to reach out to them.”
The study broke the last 50 years down to three distinct phases, the first ending in 1968, when suicide rates in Scotland overtook England and Wales, for both men and women, for the first time.
Between 1968 and the start of the third phase in 1992, suicide rates rose among British men and, in general, dropped among women, and there was not a huge difference between north and south of the Border.
However, the last 20 years have seen a pronounced north- south divide open up.
Suicide rates among Scottish men did drop sharply in the first half of the last decade, but has since started to climb again.
Prof Platt said: “The figures are up and down but there was an increase among men in England and Wales in 2008, after a decade of decline, which could be linked to the beginning of the economic crisis.
“There is plenty of research linking economic downturn to suicide and it would be very surprising if there was not some adverse effects.”
A Samaritans spokeswoman said: “It would appear that national strategies and services are failing to reach and engage men, which is why Samaritans launched a campaign in late 2010 to target working class men who are the most at risk.”
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Comments
There are 61 comments to this article
Page 1 of 5
duelaynomore
Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 03:34 PMPersonally I blame it on the combination of the weather and the heavy prices we pay for almost everything...where probably 60% of the cost of anything we buy is caused by taxes or regulation compliance or the seller's taxes and compliances....When you buy a turnip at the farmers field what do you pay? then compare at a shop? why the huge differential. Look also at motor car prices UK verses USA..same difference. We are taxed to near extinction to maintain an army of wasters..who do nothing but complain and tear their publicly funded facilities to bits.
brianwci
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 02:58 PM"Scottish men twice as likely to take their own lives: Must be one of those union dividends we keep hearing about. Generally men have been emasculated since the 'feminist' movement swung into action. I would think that poor social conditions, lack of work over decades, breeding low aspirations, poor self confidence and low self esteem over decades all worse in Scotland than other parts of the UK have contributed enormously to the high suicide rate in Scotland. Hopefully the new air of Hope about the country will become reality for most as we move towards Independence. And don't jump up and down about my turning this sensitive issue into a political football. Reality check: Politics affects all our lives. Most people don't become poor off their own bat. Let's do something about it come 2014.
Elvis
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 11:27 AMIt's because they don't get timely intervention from social work as they're all too busy supervising sex offenders according to Rugal et al.!
Alicia Murray
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 09:24 AMThis is the saddest of articles what an indictment on our society. UK government policies are surely bad for our health.
AndrewJohnYounger
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 08:10 AMhyellow - its your own ignorance that is the problem, body is communicating and the disorder or confusion you fail to understand. To apply poly pharmacy (drug cocktail) only masks the problem(s) and shall in time create actual disease. "Even keel," lot more to a ship than a keel, don't be a Concordia, use all your facets of human beingness and look beyond the monopoly service provider psychiatry are a dead loss. Write from practical, the lift from the low, scribble while you nibble, food for thought, change a mind (yes success). 55 hlyellow Friday, February 10, 2012 at 01:37 AM AndrewJohnYounger ( comment #43) Thanks I needed the reinforcment that ignorance about depression is still rife!
antiparasite
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 02:49 AMDo more people commit suicide after they seek help than before?... If it's after, is it the early period when the 'shrink's are experimenting with dangerous drugs or later?
hlyellow
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 01:37 AMAndrewJohnYounger ( comment #43) Thanks I needed the reinforcment that ignorance about depression is still rife!
Pilgrim
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 12:47 AMThe poor lad pictured above has probably just watched Alex Salmond on T.V. Say no more.
Pilgrim
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 12:44 AMIn Scotland the comments that are moderated in this paper alone is amazing. The English newspapers seems to be much more liberal. I was told Scotland is puritanical and very very political correct. So its hardly surprising.
KINGFISHER1
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 11:38 PMComment removed by moderator
allymax
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 11:30 PM#26 nellie spherical objects to you too! Here's what you said, "Depression & suicide do not differentiate between rich or poor, famous or anonymous,"...................Yes it does, more poor people die from suicide than rich people; are you being particularly obtuse? Then you said, "'. Suicide is a product of an illness, a mental illness, usually clinical depression."...............Spherical Objects Nellie!......................Unless you have a background in Depression, you don't know what you're talking about. And your coup-de-gras is, "You do those who are ill with it a disservice by suggesting it's about money as that then makes them feel worse about not being able to get any! They need to understand how they feel is not their fault, that they are just ill, and they will recover regardless of their economic plight.".................Nellie, it has occurred to me that you are one of those 'administrative do-gooders' that eat up all the money spent for helping these suicidal people. You need to read the comments on here by Buford Van Stomm, and AndrewJohnYounger. They tell you why you are the indelicate one!---------------For the record, I empathise with those who have lost family members to suicide, and those who have personally experienced the feelings.
revjvr
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 07:55 PMComment removed by moderator
CheesyQ
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 07:16 PMGod this article and it's consequential comments are depressing.
freelander
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 06:57 PMThere are two types of depression - clinical and reactive. The first is an illness, often poorly diagnosed, but can be treated and managed. It is, as everybody says, something that should be commonly understood but often isn't. Reactive depression is in response to a real event, whatever it may be for that person, and this does involve really listening and investigating to find out the causes and potential solutions. Even if we were to find that all suicides were as a result of depressive illness, you'd still want to understand why it's more prevalent in Scotland than England - it's still more of a question than an answer on a national level.
TomNeal
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 03:59 PMSuicide isn't an individual issue . . . it's a problem that impacts the lives all concerned. In other words, we're all in this together. Every person who's ever taken his or her own life knew someone a family member, a colleague, a friend, a neighbor, someone - who could have taken steps to help prevent the ultimate tragedy. The point is simply this: Each of us has a responsibility to others, to ourselves, to our communities, to our nation to watch for the ominous signs that precede suicide and to then take appropriate action to save a life . . . before it's too late. Is that asking too much? Thanks for listening, Tom Neal
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