Suicide methods differ between men and women

Men nearly twice as likely as women to use a method that disfigures the face or head when taking their own lives

2011-08-31

(Press-News.org) Women who commit suicide are more likely than men to avoid facial disfiguration, but not necessarily in the name of vanity. Valerie Callanan from the University of Akron and Mark Davis from the Criminal Justice Research Center at the Ohio State University, USA, show that there are marked gender differences in the use of suicide methods that disfigure the face or head. While firearms are the preferred method for both men and women, women are less likely to shoot themselves in the head. The study is published online in Springer's journal Sex Roles.

Although a number of studies have looked at gender differences in suicide risk, few have examined gender differences in suicide methods. Understanding gender differences in suicide methods has important implications for suicide prevention efforts.

Callanan and Davis examined the medical examiner's files of 621 suicide cases in Summit County, Ohio in the US, covering a 10-year period (1997-2006). They found that women were significantly less likely than men to use suicide methods with the potential to disfigure the face or head. Indeed, men were nearly twice as likely as women to have used such methods.

The researchers also found that for every one-unit increase in blood alcohol level, the odds of using a disfiguring method increased by nearly 10 percent. Gender, age, stressful life events and prior suicide attempts all predicted the use of methods that disfigure the face and head.

The authors conclude: "To suggest that women are less likely to shoot themselves in the face or head because they are more concerned about their appearance than men is to minimize the significance of the act of suicide. What we do know is that those experiencing stressful life events are at far greater risk of employing an especially lethal method of suicide than those not experiencing such events."

### Reference Callanan VJ & Davis MS (2011). Gender and suicide method: do women avoid facial disfiguration? Sex Roles DOI 10.1007/s11199-011-0043-0

The full-text article is available to journalists on request.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Wakeup call for college students: New research finds you need to catch more z's

2011-08-31

University of Cincinnati research finds that college students could be undermining their own education, simply because they're not practicing proper sleep habits. The study, led by Adam Knowlden, a UC doctoral student in UC's Health Promotion and Education Program, also holds recommendations for students to form better sleep habits that will ultimately enhance their learning. The study evaluated the sleep habits of nearly 200 undergraduate college students between the ages of 18 and 24 who were not living with a parent or legal guardian. The study included 130 females ...

Hands-on dads give kids an edge

2011-08-31

This release is available in French. Montreal, August 30, 2011 — Fathers who actively engage in raising their children can help make their offspring smarter and better behaved, according to new research from Concordia University. Published in the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, the long-term study examined how fathers can positively influence the development of their kids through hands-on parenting. "Fathers make important contributions in the development of their children's behaviour and intelligence," says Erin Pougnet, a PhD candidate in the Concordia ...

Mayo Clinic finds social media valuable tool to recruit study participants for rare diseases

2011-08-31

ROCHESTER, Minn. - Mayo Clinic has identified a new benefit of social media and online networking: a novel way to study rare diseases. Through patient-run websites dedicated to heart conditions and women's heart health, a team of cardiologists led by Sharonne Hayes, M.D., is reaching out to survivors of spontaneous coronary artery dissection, also known as SCAD, a poorly understood heart condition that affects just a few thousand Americans every year. Study recruitment through social media and online networks could help researchers assemble large and demographically diverse ...

Patients' underlying health linked to worse outcomes for melanoma, U-M study finds

2011-08-31

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It's not how old but how frail patients are that can predict how well they will fare after a melanoma diagnosis. In fact, young patients in poor health may have worse outcomes than older patients in good shape. A new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center finds that patients with decreased core muscle density were more likely to see their cancer spread to distant parts of the body. These findings may also support the idea that the patient's biological response to a tumor is important in controlling the spread of melanoma. ...

Mother-son ties change over time, influence teen boys' behavior, Wayne State study finds

2011-08-31

DETROIT – Relationships between mothers and their sons change during childhood and adolescence, however, not all relationships change in the same way. A Wayne State University-led study has found that how the relationships change may affect boys' behavior when they become teens. The research team, led by Christopher Trentacosta, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Wayne State University, looked at 265 mother-son pairs from low-income families in Pittsburgh, starting when the boys were 5 through adolescence. The families ...

Localizing language in the brain

2011-08-31

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- New research from MIT suggests that there are parts of our brain dedicated to language and only language, a finding that marks a major advance in the search for brain regions specialized for sophisticated mental functions. Functional specificity, as it's known to cognitive scientists, refers to the idea that discrete parts of the brain handle distinct tasks. Scientists have long known that functional specificity exists in certain domains: In the motor system, for example, there is one patch of neurons that controls the fingers of your left hand, and ...

Role of soy in menopausal health reported

2011-08-31

Soy has recently been reviewed and supported for introduction into general medical practice as a treatment for distressing vasomotor symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, but its use in other medical areas, such as heart health, requires further research, according to a new report reviewing the risks and benefits of soy protein, isoflavones and metabolites in menopausal health from The North American Menopause Society (NAMS)/Wulf H. Utian Translational Science Symposium, published in the July Menopause, the peer-reviewed NAMS journal. "Although a significant amount ...

Microscope on the go: Cheap, portable, dual-mode microscope uses holograms, not lenses

2011-08-31

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30—To serve remote areas of the world, doctors, nurses and field workers need equipment that is portable, versatile, and relatively inexpensive. Now researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) have built a compact, light-weight, dual-mode microscope that uses holograms instead of lenses. The team describes the new device in a paper published today in the Optical Society's (OSA) open-access journal Biomedical Optics Express. Their prototype weighs about as much as a medium-sized banana and fits in the palm of a hand. And, since it ...

IU analysis changing diagnosis and management of initial UTIs in young children

2011-08-31

INDIANAPOLIS – Analysis by Indiana University School of Medicine researchers of ten years of scientific studies has resulted in changes in American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations for how initial urinary tract infection in infants and toddlers is diagnosed and treated. This change will affect thousands of children every year. The findings of the IU School of Medicine investigators argue against exposing all young children who are diagnosed with an initial urinary tract infection (UTI) to a painful radiologic test and against prescribing prophylactic antibiotic treatment ...

The Great Recession could reduce school achievement for children of unemployed

2011-08-31

The Great Recession could have lingering impacts on the children of the unemployed, according to researchers at the University of Chicago. "There is growing evidence that parental job loss has adverse consequences on children's behavior, academic achievement and later employment outcomes, particularly in economically disadvantaged families," said Heather Hill, assistant professor in the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration. The material hardship and stress associated with unemployment appears to reduce the quality of the home environment and ...

DARPA-ABC program supports Wyss Institute-led collaboration toward deeper understanding of anesthesia and safe drugs enabling anesthesia without the need for extensive monitoring

Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative launches innovative brain health navigator program for intuitive coordination between patients and providers

Large-scale TMIST breast cancer screening trial achieves enrollment goal, paving the way for data that provides a precision approach to screeninge

Study published in NEJM Catalyst finds patients cared for by MedStar Health’s Safe Babies Safe Moms program have better outcomes in pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum

Suicide methods differ between men and women

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: