Funding: NIAAA RO1 AA02179
The United States economy contracted markedly starting December 2007. There is substantial evidence indicating the impact of contracting economies, particularly levels of unemployment, on suicide mortality risk. But less is known about the role alcohol misuse plays in the complex relationship between economic conditions and suicide. This project will estimate the effect of the economic downturn on rates of suicide involving acute alcohol intoxication using newly available data from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS).
The project aims are to: (1) describe suicides associated with acute alcohol ingestion by geographic region and by time from before (2003-07) to after the onset (2008-12) of the economic contraction; (2) examine the association between measures of economic distress and rates of alcohol-related suicide by geographic area and by time; (3) analyze the roles of alcohol consumption and alcohol availability in explaining connections (if any) between economic contraction and alcohol-related suicide; and (4) compare relationships among economic contraction, alcohol consumption, and alcohol-related suicide across age, gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic sub-groups of the population.
