The role of unemployment in parasuicide.
Sixty-four in-patient cases of deliberate non-fatal self-poisoning were compared for psychosocial problems in a case-control study with a similar number of individually matched community controls. A strongly significant association was found between unemployment and self-poisoning. Further analysis revealed no firm evidence to support the hypotheses that unemployment was causally related to self-poisoning in an indirect manner or that it increased the vulnerability of individuals who self-poison to other stressful life events and difficulties. It is concluded that a possible explanation is that some third factor independently increases the risk of both unemployment and self-poisoning, giving rise to a non-causal relationship between these last two variables.
Jones
S C
SC
Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Forster
D P
DP
Hassanyeh
F
F
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D062787:Drug Overdose / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014478:Unemployment / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data