Facts and myths about seasonal variation in suicide.
The prevalence of suicide presents a universal seasonal pattern. In the Northern hemisphere, suicides peak during spring and early summer and the trough occurs during winter. This peculiar pattern might be counterintuitive for everyday reasoning. Data from 1,093 medical and psychology undergraduates from Austria (382 men and 711 women; M age 25.0 yr., SD=6.6) indicated an almost perfectly reversed pattern of beliefs about suicide seasonality compared with the actual seasonal distribution. The vast majority of respondents believed the peak to be located in late autumn and early winter and the trough occurring in late spring and the summer months. Implications for education and practice are discussed.
Department of Basic Psychological Research, School of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, Rm 03-42, A-1010 Vienna, Austria. martin.voracek@univie.ac.at
Martin
M
Voracek
Ulrich S
US
Tran
Gernot
G
Sonneck
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001317:Austria / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012621:Seasons; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*