I went to the original information provided by Smac (though he provided a link from Yahoo, I got this one from Adherents)
There are many complex factors in suicide studies, and it's not an exact science. Utah does have a higher than average suicide rate among males ranging from 15-44. Pearson was right about that. Active LDS have a much lower suicide rate, however.
For example, the suicide rate among less active LDS church members aged 25 to 29 was seven times higher than among their active church peers. Nationally, the suicide rate among 20- to 34-year old males was 2.5 to 3 times higher than among active LDS church members of the same age. Suicide risk was also 3 to 6 times higher among nonmembers in comparison to active members of the LDS church.
In addition, the risk of suicide among males aged 15 to 19 was three times higher among the less active church members than among their active peers, but the rate among the active youth was comparable to the national suicide rate.
One potential reason for the association between lower suicide risk and high levels of religiosity may be the fact that some religions forbid substance abuse or other harmful behaviors that may be associated with suicide, the researchers speculate.
In addition, they suggest, the social structure and support provided by many religions may reduce feelings of isolation and help individuals who are suffering bouts of depression, thereby acting as a suicide prevention measure.
Lastly, the high value placed on life by many religions may also be an indirect method of suicide prevention, since individuals who are strongly committed to their faith may have a greater desire to live.
"Since the possible explanations (given)... for the observed association are not unique to the LDS church, I believe that these findings are most likely generalizable to other religions," Hilton said.
http://www.adherents.com/largecom/lds_L ... eRate.htmlThe 15-19 age bracket was the only one at the national level of suicide.
Depression, however, seems to be a problem, even with the lower than average suicide rate:
Mirroring Utah's suicide rate is the level of anti-depressant usage.
More Utahns take Prozac-style drugs than in any other state, according to a study conducted in June of 2001 by Express Scripts, a pharmacy benefit management firm.
The study indicated that Utah residents average 1.1 prescriptions per person per year of medications such as Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil. The national average is 0.7.
"Oregon and Maine also had above average anti-depressant usage, but those states' percentage of overcast days and average length of winter could explain the increased number of depressed residents," said Jim Jorgenson, director of pharmacy services for the University of Utah.
No such weather explanations exist in Utah, which has a high percentage of sunny days and average winter duration, he said.
Jorgenson said Utah women, the group accounting for the largest percentage of anti-depressant use, are under larger amounts of stress than their counterparts in other states because of large family size in Utah.
He also said some experts believe pressures on time and emotions could explain the high Prozac usage among Latter-day Saints.
Judd offered an additional hypothesis after stressing that Utah's usage of anti-depressants does not indicate there is a higher lever of depression in the state.
"Utahns are more educated per capita than residents of other states," he said. "So instead of trying to ignore mental problems or medicate it on our own with alcohol or something else, we tend to seek professional help. We try to address our problems through legal legitimate ways."
There are a lot of generalities here. Is more Prozac use among
LDS substantiated? I don't see that (?). Maybe other reports show this.
Note that:
The study does not account for the higher suicide rate in Utah overall, a statistic that has baffled sociologists for decades.
In the general religion study:
Religious affiliation is associated with less suicidal behavior in depressed inpatients. After other factors were controlled, it was found that greater moral objections to suicide and lower aggression level in religiously affiliated subjects may function as protective factors against suicide attempts. Further study about the influence of religious affiliation on aggressive behavior and how moral objections can reduce the probability of acting on suicidal thoughts may offer new therapeutic strategies in suicide prevention.
http://www.adherents.com/misc/religion_suicide.htmlI thought the last part of this link was interesting:
It is important to keep in mind that suicide is not actively encouraged by any major group or belief system, whether atheist, agnostic or highly religious. Even in nonreligious nations and belief systems in which suicide is considered a moral and viable option, it is an abberation.
Although there is a strong statistically significant correlation linking religious belief and practice to lower levels of suicide, it is not reasonable to use this correlation to broadly generalize about the merits of any particular belief system. Simply put, most people eat food, have families, work or go to school. But only a tiny fraction of any population ever commits suicide. Suicide is a statistical anomaly and is not a generally applicable demographic measure.
Social scientists believe that non-belief in God or lack of religiosity are not causitive factors leading to suicide. Rather, it is likely that religious belief that suicide is wrong is a strong deterrent factor that prevents otherwise suicide-prone individuals from committing suicide.
According to medical research, the factors most predictive of suicide are hopelessness and depression. Clinical depression can be found in all segments of society. The following passage is from: "Cognitive therapy for the suicidal patient: A case study" in Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, Oct-Dec 1998, by Christine E. Reilly:
Suicide is responsible for more than 31,000 deaths a year, making it the ninth leading cause of death in America (Anderson, Kochanek, & Murphy, 1997). The single most predictive risk factor for a completed suicide is a psychiatric diagnosis. As in the case of depression and panic disorder, cognitive therapy research has made a significant contribution toward understanding the variables in suicide. A task force of the National Institute of Mental Health Center for Studies of Suicide Prevention developed a tripartite classification system in 1973 to describe suicidal behavior-suicide ideation, suicide attempt, and completed suicide (Beck et al., 1973)...
Many factors play a role in suicidal ideation and behavior. Hopelessness frequently has been reported to be the most critical psychological variable predictive of suicidal ideation and behavior. Degree of hopelessness, along with a negative self-concept (a variable predictive of suicide independent of hopelessness), compose two of the three components of Beck's negative cognitive triad found operating in depressed individuals (Beck, Steer, Epstein, & Brown, 1990).
Certainly Latter-day Saint missionaries never knock on doors with a message, "Hello. If you join our Church you'll be less likely to kill yourself." Likewise, it is unlikely that any atheists and agnostics will modify their beliefs and religious practices simply because of one demographic factor relating to a statstical group they happen to belong to. If your "discussion" of the relative merits of your belief system devolves into pointing out the suicide rate within a specific population, then you have already lost the argument, because you have abandoned substantitive dialogue in favor of an appeal to tangential sensationalism.
(All bold emphasis is mine)
I think both Pearson and Smac are right to a degree. LDS suicide rates are lower overall, and for "religious reasons", though Utah is still above average in suicide in certain age brackets. If a gay person is not active, though brought up Mormon, it's likely they would be classed among the inactive, thus in the higher suicide bracket. Hopelessness and depression could afflict such a person, producing conflicts and pressures from a Mormon upbringing, but added to that could be mental illness produced by chemical imbalances, etc, or even substance abuse. There is some speculation in the reports as well, it's not all grounded in "hard facts", and I guess I'm just adding mine.
Whatever the causes, one must ask whether the Church is adequately addressing suicide
prevention, not just among the active, who have "resources" referred to in the report, but the inactive or estranged from the Church. It seems clear that religious faith discourages suicide, for the reasons outlined, but it could also inculcate hopelessness in others, and this isn't a gauge to how many suffer depression while continuing to live, hence another possible factor in the high use of Prozac, or even substance abuse related to hopelessness.
One thing I'll say about the thread, some people need to show more tolerance towards people like Pearson. She may have been a bit melodramatic in her comparisons (though I'm sure she doesn't think so), but it's a point that she may feel can only be driven home by such comparisons.