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Could gun control drastically cut male suicide rates?

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Men’s Rights activists like to remind people that men commit suicide far more often than women.

But that’s not because men are many times more miserable than women. In fact, women are far more likely to attempt suicide than men. They simply don’t succeed at it as often as men do.

The reason for this is simple: men tend to choose more lethal methods of suicide than women. And that often means guns. Indeed, most gun deaths in the US are the result of suicide, not murder.

Could we reduce the number of suicides by making guns harder to get hold of? A new study in the American Journal of Public Health suggests the answer is yes.

Researchers Michael D. Anestis and Joye C. Anestis from the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg looked at the effect four different kinds of gun control legislation — waiting periods, universal background checks, gun locks, and open carrying regulations — had on suicide rates, finding that

[e]ach law was associated with significantly lower firearm suicide rates and the proportion of suicides resulting from firearms. In addition, each law, except for that which required a waiting period, was associated with a lower overall suicide rate. Follow-up analyses showed a significant indirect effect on overall suicide rates through the proportion of suicides by firearms, indicating that the reduced overall suicide rate was attributable to fewer suicide attempts, fewer handguns in the home, suicide attempts using less lethal means, or a combination of these factors. States that implemented any of these laws saw a decreased suicide rate in subsequent years, whereas the only state that repealed 1 of these laws saw an increased suicide rate.

This isn’t the only study suggesting that restricting access to firearms could dramatically lower suicide rates.

A 2013 study by researchers Justin Briggs and Alex Tabarrok at George Mason University found that in the United States from 2000 to 2009, each “percentage-point decrease in household gun ownership leads to between 0.5 and 0.9 percent fewer suicides.”

And the effect has been seen in other countries as well. Australia saw an 80 percent reduction in suicides by firearm after adopting stricter gun control laws and instituting a large-scale gun buyback program in the 1990s; there was no rise in suicides by other means.

This last finding may strike some as the most puzzling one. If someone is intent on killing themselves but no longer has a firearm in the house, wouldn’t they just attempt suicide in some other way? Surprisingly the answer is generally “no.”

As Briggs and Tabarrok noted in a Slate piece explaining their findings,

contrary to the “folk wisdom” that people who want to commit suicide will always find a way to get the job done, suicides are not inevitable. Suicides are often impulsive decisions, and guns require less forethought than other means of suicide—and they’re also deadlier.

MRAs who are serious about reducing the number of male suicides — not just using male suicide stats as a cheap debating point — need to start talking seriously about gun control.

Here’s a video from VOX with more information on the subject:

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mrex
mrex
9 years ago

I think that I’ve mentioned before that the main factor driving suicide is a personality trait of impulsiviness. They’ve done studies of people with depression, and found that a history of impulsive decisions explained the people who committed suicide verses the people who stayed alive. Anything that reduces impulsiveness helps. Gun control will (temporarily) reduce suicide, but I think a much healthier, permanent solution would be for society to change its attitudes towards suicide and begin discussing suicide openly.

I admit, I’m against many forms of gun control. I think the only acceptable form of weapon (not just gun) control is *completely* banning a weapon. In other words, either literally *everyone* that’s not a felon should be able to own a weapon, or literally *no-one* should be able to own that weapon. Especially, people with a history of mental illness should be in no way restricted from owning firearms. People will avoid getting help if they believe their guns are at risk.

mrex
mrex
9 years ago

Ah, looks like a phone screw up. I didn’t realize that I accidentally posted earlier! Please ignore my first comment. 🙂

Alan Robertshaw
9 years ago

@ mrex

If we ask the Mods to delete your original post it will look like I have powers of precognosis!

mrex
mrex
9 years ago

@Alan, Yes, but how much do the steroids increase impulsiveness, vs. people who use steroids already have a highly impulsive personality ? 🙂 I know that steroid use has long been correlated with suicide.

mrex
mrex
9 years ago

@Alan

“If we ask the Mods to delete your original post it will look like I have powers of precognosis.”

You mean you don’t?

mrex
mrex
9 years ago

@Binja

“Every drug addict started using for a reason, and they continue using for a reason, and those reasons are pretty much never “they’re morally degenerate” or “they’re weak willed.” Usually it’s something more along the lines of “I feel like my life is shit”.”

Sure, *some* people start using drugs because they’re depressed, but actually a lot start using because drugs are fun. Yes, even herion. Impulsive people are impulsive, and think that they will beat the odds.

TL;DR: Not all addicts start out depressed.

Alan Robertshaw
9 years ago

You mean you don’t?

I knew you’d say that.

Didn’t know about the steroid/suicide correlation, so cheers. Yeah, working out what’s cause and what’s effect isn’t always easy.

hentropy
hentropy
9 years ago

Suicide rates in general tend to be more directly correlated with religiosity than anything else, the countries with the lowest rates tend to ironically be very poor countries and repressive countries that are also usually very religious.

The idea that “Japan has lots of a suicides because of traditional ritualistic suicide yada yada” is a very harmful stereotype. It’s not even something that your average person was subject to, it was there as something for upper-classes and samurai to do to “regain their honor”. The fact is that they have more suicides in modern days because they don’t ascribe to religions that make suicide a mortal sin, and they are industrialized enough to have people who feel isolated by the monotony of modern life.

Speaking as a gun owner and someone who generally doesn’t like the “ban all guns” approach to gun control, more background checks and waiting periods are something I support wholeheartedly. In my state I can buy a gun in around 10-15 minutes, and that is just a little mind-boggling.

freemage
freemage
9 years ago

Za_Docta | September 3, 2015 at 9:45 am
At least now no red-herring-loving MRAs can accuse us of not caring about men’s issues.
Though I’m sure they’ll find some way to twist this into an attack on masculinity or something.

Never underestimate their ability to do the twist. Look at Anikom’s post:

Anikom | September 2, 2015 at 9:03 pm
This is false causation. While restricting firearms may reduce suicide rates, there is no evidence that it will reduce the differential between the sexes. I believe the difference is wholly cultural and that a better (and more realistic) course of action is a reëvaluation of dealing with mental illness.

Apparently, if a particular solution would benefit women as well as men, it’s unacceptable. (Note that even if we accept the idea that the overall differential would be the same, it would still help more men than women due to the way the proportionality works, so it’s simply the fact that it helps women at all that’s considered an argument against it.)

Anikom, on the off chance you’re not an MRA, you really need to reconsider that post.

Nick Gotts
Nick Gotts
9 years ago

So how do you explain the rate still being significantly higher in the U.K.where I’m pretty sure you can’t walk into Sainsburys and buy a shooter? – the bitterest pill

you don’t need an explanation for something that isn’t true. The U.K.’s suicide rate appears to be lower than that of either the USA or France.

Nick Gotts
Nick Gotts
9 years ago

Suicide rates in general tend to be more directly correlated with religiosity than anything else, the countries with the lowest rates tend to ironically be very poor countries and repressive countries that are also usually very religious. – hentropy

It’s hard to know how far this is a genuine difference in suicide rates, and how far it’s a consequence of under-reporting in countries where suicide is viewed as shameful.

Alan Robertshaw
9 years ago

@ Nick

I’d be curious as to a breakdown of suicide attempts against hours of darkness in any particular region and by time of year.

hentropy
hentropy
9 years ago

@Nick

That’s a fair point, many of these countries don’t keep official statistics, however, and the information is gathered in other ways. Some countries there is no information on. Even when just talking about industrialized countries that do keep good information, the only thing suicide rates directly correlate to is how religious the people in that country tend to be. If you’re told all your life and if it’s reinforced by society that suicide is one of the worst and sinful things you can do, it sort of makes sense.

That’s not me being a religious apologist or saying “darned people don’t go to church any more grr”, it’s just a statement of fact. Suicides that happen as a result of temporary but very dark mood swings could certainly be headed off by making suicide more difficult (ie not having a gun), but it’s certainly not and end to the conversation, as high suicide rates in Japan and Scandinavia show. Countries must be able to deal with suicide risk in a way that reflects a more secular and nonreligious society. “God doesn’t like it” doesn’t work anymore.

Alan Robertshaw
9 years ago

“God doesn’t like it” doesn’t work anymore.

There’s an interesting question here as to how people should react to suicide, especially in the age of social media.

Say someone takes their own life because of bullying, do we express sympathy but risk making suicide seem ‘romantic’ or do we say the person was selfish and highlight the pain caused to the person’s family etc?

The second option seems cruel, but if it puts people off suicide is it justified?

katz
katz
9 years ago

The second option seems cruel, but if it puts people off suicide is it justified?

My gut feeling is that it wouldn’t put people off; it would just add self-loathing by making them feel like they’re mean and selfish for wanting to end their own lives, which would then feed back and make them feel like they deserve to live even less.

But I have no numbers to back that up.

Nick Gotts
Nick Gotts
9 years ago

hentropy,

Suicide rates don’t seem to be particularly high in Scandinavia, at least not uniformly. Norway and Denmark have lower rates than the USA. Highest is Finland (which has high gun ownership), but even that has lower rates than Poland and Hungary.

hentropy
hentropy
9 years ago

@Alan
Shame can be a motivator, it is the way religion works, after all. It is almost mean to think about, but the way in which suicide victims are memorialized and made a big deal out of may in some ways add incentive to actually do it. It’s completely understandable and is a natural reaction to tragedy, it’s another one of those “be mean to save your life” kind of things. There’s certainly no fun or easy way to deal with suicide, be it teenage or adult, and any reaction to it might help some while increasing the risk for others.

@Nick
I had thought that it was Sweden-levels of high across Scandinavia, but I may have been wrong. The US is also a more religious country than much of Europe, so having some more level of gun control might bring us more in line with other countries, at the same time I really don’t think it will lower it drastically nationwide. You add in the fact that even if you ban handguns, if you’re looking to commit suicide shotguns and rifles will so the trick as well. Seeing as the US has no will to even have more background checks on handguns, the idea of reducing access to all kinds of weapons and including waiting periods is rather unlikely. So while some common sense gun control might work to reduce rates and is worth doing, it’s still just treating a symptom more than a cause.

Pandapool -- The Species that Endangers YOU (aka Banana Jackie Cake, for those who still want to call me "Banana", "Jackie" or whatever)
Pandapool -- The Species that Endangers YOU (aka Banana Jackie Cake, for those who still want to call me "Banana", "Jackie" or whatever)
9 years ago

Memorials are only a comfort to the living. It’s hard to appreciate people missing you when you’re dead.

hentropy
hentropy
9 years ago

@Pandapool
Logically you’re correct, but when you’re suicidal because you feel worthless, no one loves you, your life has no meaning or impact, then the idea of making the news and having a day off of school in your honor does factor into your psyche. There was once a signature-dark joke in Family Guy where Stewie offhandedly mentions to Meg that if she kills herself now she’ll probably get a full-page spread in the yearbook, so that’s something. Obviously you might not be around to “appreciate” it, but the idea of making some sort of impact and having their life matter when it currently doesn’t can potentially factor into suicidal thoughts. Some also hypothesize that obsessive media coverage contributes to the incentive for spree shootings, it’s sort of the same principle here, but there’s no easy way to address either issue.

Jarnsaxa
Jarnsaxa
9 years ago

The media is aware that how suicide is reported can alter the chances of suicide contagion, that is, a second person killing themselves after reading about the first one.

That’s why many of us adhere to these guidelines: http://reportingonsuicide.org/

Pandapool -- The Species that Endangers YOU (aka Banana Jackie Cake, for those who still want to call me "Banana", "Jackie" or whatever)
Pandapool -- The Species that Endangers YOU (aka Banana Jackie Cake, for those who still want to call me "Banana", "Jackie" or whatever)
9 years ago

Shush shush shush shush

Don’t try to undo my logic for me. That has been my logic for the past decade and I needn’t have it ruined with your statistics and facts.

mockingbird
mockingbird
9 years ago

@Alan – I can say that when I was in Portland, OR, there were anti-suicide posters seemingly everywhere.

Any Portlanders know if that’s still the case?

Tracy
9 years ago

Wow – suicide is listed as the 7th leading cause of death for males in Canada, at least in 2011. Nunavut is way, way at the top of the list for suicides, both male and female, though the male rate is at least 3x the female rate. Suicide in aboriginal communities is higher all-around.

Apparently the rate is higher also for people who have been in the military – 46% higher for males and 32% higher for females, compared to non-military.

I didn’t know any of this – it’s eye-opening.

Alan Robertshaw
9 years ago

@ Tracey

Apparently the rate is higher also for people who have been in the military

We lost more troops who fought in the Falklands to suicide than we did to combat.

Rabid Rabbit
Rabid Rabbit
9 years ago

The aboriginal suicide rate in Canada, compared to across the rest of the country, ought to be all the evidence we need that we’re not exactly doing good by them, to utter one of the great understatements of the year.

I despise beauty pageants on principle, but still, congrats to Miss Universe (who is a Canadian First Nations woman this year) for speaking out on the matter and not prettifying her words. (See what I did there?)