Social Explanations for Suicide in New Zealand
Date of publication: December 2005
A suite of five reports, and a sixth summary report, has been produced as part of a contract the Ministry of Health held with the Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences between 2001 and 2004.
The reports explore a range of possible social explanations, analyses and evidence about New Zealand’s suicide trends. The report topics ranged from a selective literature review of published studies examining a range of social factors for suicide, to contemporary Māori views on suicide (whakamomori), comparisons of suicide rates between Finland and New Zealand during economic recession, and the correlation between suicide and socio-economic fluctuations in New Zealand over a 20-year period.
The broad consensus arising from the suite of reports is that social factors are relevant to suicide. However the linkages between macrosocial, cultural and macroeconomic factors and individual suicidal behaviours still remain unclear.
The Ministry commissioned this research to broaden understanding of the causes of suicide which, to date, has predominantly focused on individual-level risk factors.
Document availability
| Report no. | Author/s | Title |
1. Literature review
(2002) | Caroline Maskill,
Ian Hodges,
Velma McClellan,
Dr Sunny Collings | Explaining Patterns of Suicide: A selective review of studies examining social, economic, cultural and other population-level influences
ISBN 0-478-29656-8 (Book)
ISBN 0-478-29604-5 (Website)
HP 4167
You can download the full text of this report in Word and PDF format:
Explaining Patterns of Suicide (Word, 700kB)
Explaining Patterns of Suicide (PDF, 1.09MB) Warning - large file size
|
2 - Review of routine data
(2002) | Stuart Ferguson,
Assc Prof Tony Blakely,
Bridget Allan,
Dr Sunny Collings | Suicide Rates in New Zealand: exploring associations with social and economic factors
ISBN 0-478-29657-6 (Book)
ISBN 0-47828381-4 (Internet)
HP 4114
You can download the full text of this report in Word and PDF format:
Suicide Rates in New Zealand (Word, 425 kB)
Suicide Rates in New Zealand (PDF, 858 kB)
|
| 3 - Mäori (2004) | Dr Paul Hirini,
Dr Sunny Collings | Whakamomori: He whakaaro, he korero noa. A collection of contemporary views on Māori and suicide
ISBN: 0-478-29658-4 (Book)
ISBN 0-478-28379-2 (Internet)
HP 4115
You can download the full text of this report in Word and PDF format:
Whakamomori: A collection of contemporary views on Māori and suicide (Word, 247 kB)
Whakamomori: A collection of contemporary views on Māori and suicide (PDF, 501 kB)
|
4 - New Zealand–Finland
comparison (2003) | Assc Prof Philippa Howden-Chapman,
Dr Simon Hales,
Dr Ralph Chapman,
Dr Ilmo Keskimaki | The Impact of Economic Recession on Youth Suicide: A comparison of New Zealand and Finland
ISBN 0-478-29650-9 (Book)
ISBN 0-478-29653-3 (Internet)
HP 4165
You can download the full text of this report in Word and PDF format:
The Impact of Economic Recession on Youth Suicide: A comparison of New Zealand and Finland (Word, 528kB)
The Impact of Economic Recession on Youth Suicide: A comparison of New Zealand and Finland (PDF, 602 kB)
|
5 - Data analysis from the New Zealand Census
–Mortality Study (2004) | Dr Sunny Collings,
Assc Prof Tony Blakely,
June Atkinson,
Jackie Fawcett | Suicide Trends and Social Factors in New Zealand 1981–1999: Analyses from the New Zealand Census-Mortality Study
ISBN 0-478-29654-1 (Book)
ISBN 0-478-29655-X (Internet)
HP 4166
You can download the full text of this report in Word and PDF format:
Suicide Trends and Social Factors in New Zealand 1981–1999 (Word, 1.69 MB) Warning - large file size
Suicide Trends and Social Factors in New Zealand 1981–1999 (PDF, 4.25MB)Warning - large file size
|
6 - Summary of
reports 1–5 (2004) | Dr Sunny Collings,
Assoc Prof Annette Beautrais | Suicide Prevention in New Zealand: a contemporary perspective
ISBN 0-478-28373-3 (Book)
ISBN 0-478-28374-1 (Internet)
HP 4108
You can download the full text of this report in Word and PDF format:
Suicide Prevention in New Zealand - A contemporary perspective: Social explanations for suicide in New Zealand (Word, 465kB)
Suicide Prevention in New Zealand - A contemporary perspective: Social explanations for suicide in New Zealand (PDF, 863kB) |
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