Ira M. Wasserman

The Effect of Religion on Suicide Ideology: An Analysis of the Networks Perspective

Previous work on religion and suicide has pursued a number of themes. The present work tested a new perspective which stresses the extent of social support networks in religions as protections against suicide. This study employed micro-level data on suicide attitudes as a check on previous findings based on ecological data. An analysis of national data from the General Social Surveys tended to support network theory. Churches promoting network involvement were found to have lower levels of suicide ideology. In particular, churches with conservative theologies, nonecumenical relations, and/or whose teachings are in tension with the larger society have lower levels of suicide ideology. These findings were independent of control variables drawn from alternative theories of suicide.

Size of place in relation to community attachment and satisfaction with community services

A general problem in the area of urban studies has been the determination of factors significantly related to community attachment. Louis Wirth had argued that with increasing community size the level of community attachment diminishes. However, Kasarda and Janowitz employed British data and found that the length of residence in the community was a more important determinant of community attachment. Buttel et al. re-examined the question and found that the size of the community was the most important determiner of community attachment. This study analyzes the question employing national survey data collected in 1971 in the Quality of American Life study. Employing variables comparable to those of the Buttel et al. study, similar results are obtained, except that race, a variable not included in the previous study, is found to be quite significant for determining levels of community attachment. However, when urban density is introduced as a variable for the urban areas in the sample, it is found to be the most important determiner of community attachment.

Gender and Suicide Risk: The Role of Wound Site

That males have higher suicide rates than females is one of the most empirically documented social facts in suicidology, but the reasons for this continue to be debated. For the present paper, we tested a neglected contributing factor to the gender suicide ratio: wound site or the area of the body that is wounded in firearm suicides. Males may have a higher suicide rate, in part, due to their greater likelihood than women for shooting themselves in the head as opposed to the body. This has been related to gender differences in fear of facial disfigurement and suicide intent. Data from the Wayne County Medical examiners office regarding 807 suicides committed with firearms was analyzed. The dependent variable was dichotomous and referred to the location of the site of the wound: gunshot to the head vs. gunshot to the body. Controls for demographic covariates of suicide included age and race of the suicide victim. The results of the multivariate logistic regression analysis determined that women were 47% less apt than men to shoot themselves in the head. Further analysis determined that women were less apt than men to use shotguns and rifles in their suicides (weapons that make head shooting more awkward). The findings are consistent with the notion that women are more concerned than men with facial disfigurement, and that women have a lower desire to die than men.

Objective and subjective social indicators of the quality of life in American SMSA'S: A reanalysis

The paper examines and critiques Schneiders work that related the subjective and objective indicators of quality of life in American cities. The work then employs data collected by Liu in 1973, and the Institute for Survey Research in 1972 as part of their national election study for 41 large and medium-sized Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs) to re-examine the question of the relationship between the objective and subjective factors. Although the results of this paper are in general comparable with those obtained by Schneider, there are individual cases where they differ. The paper then concludes with a discussion of the reasons why objective and subjective indicators may coincide.

The Educational Interests of the Elderly: A Case Study.

Educational gerontology, as a subfield of social gerontology, has a basic concern with the role of adult education in providing education for the elderly. One basic question that must be answered within this subfield is the degree of interest in higher education among the elderly. This article deals with this question by examining survey data collected among elderly respondents in Washtenaw County, Michigan, and finds that the overall interest in various types of college courses among the elderly is quite low. The data also show that age is strongly related to course interest. The results suggest that political policy makers should be cautious in funding educational programs for the elderly, and should focus their programs on elderly individuals under 70 years of age.

Age, Birthdays, and Suicide

The present study, which contained a sample of 3,948 suicides and controls for seasonal effects, did not replicate the results of Barraclough and Hughess (1987) study. People are not significantly more likely to die near the time of their birthdays than they are at other times of the year.

Lethal Locations: An Application of Opportunity Theory to Motel Suicide, a Research Note

Location of suicide is a neglected area in suicidology, but is important because location is related to the presence of motivated rescuers who can prevent suicides. The present study analyzes the predictors of suicide in a location that is apt to be free of motivated rescuers: the motel room. Data from the files of a medical examiner in a Midwestern city included 1457 suicides, of which 27 took place in motel rooms. Predictor variables include demographic characteristics and psychosocial stressors associated with the suicides. An exploratory multivariate logistic regression model found four independent predictors of motel suicide. Conditions elevating the odds of motel room suicide were divorce (odds ratio = 6.0), out of county residence (OR = 14.4), hanging as a suicide method (OR = 3.0), and substance abuse (OR = 2.6). The model explained 24% of the variance in location of suicide. Opportunity theory is utilized to explain why location influences the probability of a suicide.

The Effect of Religion on Suicide: An Analysis of Cultural Context.

Research on the impact of religion has been marked by a recurrent flaw: the failure to analyze the greater social context of religion. The present study addresses this by inspecting the impact of Catholicism on suicide in two socio-culturally different regions in the state of Louisiana. A multiple regression analysis of county suicide rates, however, finds no evidence for a contextual effect. Catholicism does not reduce suicide in the historically French Catholic, southern region of the state, and it does not increase suicide in the historically Anglo-Saxon, Protestant northern region of the state. The results tend to question the religious networks and religious integration perspectives.

A cross-national comparison of contraception and abortion laws

Although there have been a number of descriptive studies of the population policies of nations throughout the world, no systematic study that employs standardized population policy measures has been carried out. Employing recent United Nations data this study develops a contraceptive policy measure related to the sale and distribution of pills, condoms and IUDs throughout the world. United Nations data is also employed to differentiate abortion policies throughout the world. Dividing the nations of the world into developed, developing and underdeveloped nations, the previously mentioned measures are related to the socioeconomic, political, demographic and medical characteristics of the nations. The contraceptive policy measures are found to be significantly linked with infant mortality rates, while the abortion policy measures are found to be linked with the religious and political characteristics of the nations. Comparing these two policy measures for a subset of the nations, it is found that different factors are predictive of these two policy measures. The paper concludes by arguing that population researchers should see these two population control measures as involving two different types of population control.

Race, urban context, and Russian roulette: findings from the national violent death reporting system, 2003-2006

Previous work on Russian roulette has focused on data from large cities. It is unclear if the epidemiological patterns based on large cities will replicate for the nation as a whole, and if the influence of minority status will be moderated by urban context. The present investigation fills these gaps by providing descriptive epidemiological data on Russian roulette for 17 states, and testing a hypothesis on urbanism as a moderator of the race-Russian roulette relationship. Data were taken from the National Violent Death Reporting System (2003-2006). They refer to 71 Russian roulette cases and a matched control group of 284 males who committed suicide by a gunshot wound to the head. Russian roulette suicides were more apt to be of minority status, younger, had a lower incidence of mental health problems, and were more likely to be utilizing alcohol than the controls. Differentiating the sample into larger and smaller urban areas, it was found that the risk of Russian roulette for African Americans was higher in larger urban areas. Epidemiological patterns in previous research on large city samples are largely replicated. The moderating influence of urban context is related to differential opportunity structures for risk-taking behavior.