Study: Young People Who Live In Rural Areas Kill Themselves At Twice The Rate As Those Who Live In Cities

TIME (3/10, Worland) reports that research published in JAMA Pediatrics indicates that “young people who live in rural areas kill themselves at twice the rate as youth who live in cities.” While “there aren’t clear-cut explanations for suicide…geographical differences seem to play a role, the researchers found.” Those residing “in rural areas have less access to mental health services, more stigma surrounding help-seeking and freer access to guns than their urban counterparts.”

In the Washington Post (3/9, Bernstein) “To Your Health” blog, Lenny Bernstein writes that the investigators “examined 66,595 suicides by people ages 10 to 24 between 1996 and 2010.” The researchers “found suicide rates of 19.93 per 100,000 for males and 4.4 per 100,00 for females in rural areas, compared to 10.31 per 100,000 for males and 2.39 per 100,000 for females in urban areas.”

Related Links:

— “This Is Where Young People Are More Likely to Commit Suicide,” Justin Worland, Time, March 9, 2015.

Posted in In The News.