title: A further test of the Finno-Ugrian Suicide Hypothesis: correspondence of county suicide rates in Romania and population proportion of ethnic Hungarians.
abstract: Across the 42 counties of Romania, the total suicide rate and the population percentage of ethnic Hungarians were strongly positively interrelated (79% attributable variance). Counties with the strongest Hungarian minority had suicide rates converging to (or exceeding) the suicide rate for Hungary, which rate is high. Of a set of about 20 vital statistics and socioeconomic indicators, only life expectancy predicted a significant increment of further variance in the suicide rates. However, this effect was small, adding merely 3% further variance explained to 79% already accounted for. Overall, the findings are supportive of the Finno-Ugrian Suicide Hypothesis, i.e., the notion that geographic patterns of suicide prevalence may be partially due to genetic differences between populations. Supplemental analyses of a questionnaire item which specifically queried this study's main finding indicated widespread disbelief of this fact of suicide prevalence across a variety of samples, including two samples from Romania.
authors: Department of Basic Psychological Research, School of Psychology, University of Vienna, Liebiggasse 5, Rm 03-46, A-1010 Vienna, Austria. martin.voracek@univie.ac.at
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Voracek
authors: Mona
authors: M
authors: Vintilă
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Muranyi
mesh_terms: D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003710:Demography; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000235:genetics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary / Q000208:ethnology; D008017:Life Expectancy / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008957:Models, Genetic; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012383:Romania / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013405:Suicide / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000092864:Suicide Prevention