536 Chapter 13Mays, 2006; Payne et al., 2008). This is es-
pecially the case for men, perhaps because
there is a greater stigma attached to homo-
sexuality in males than females. Homosexu-
ality is viewed as more inconsistent with the
male role than the female role.
Gender roles have been implicated in
suicide. In a study of the elderly in the United
States, the suicide rate of women and men in
each state was examined in relation to agentic
variables (indicators of financial and social sta-
tus, such as income and education) and com-
munal variables (indicators of social stability,
such as moving, and social environment stress,
such as living in a crowded area; Coren &
Hewitt, 1999). The investigators found that
agentic variables more strongly predicted
suicide among elderly men than women, and
communal variables more strongly predicted
suicide among elderly women than men. The
agentic personality trait is associated with
less suicidal thinking among adults, and high
levels of agency buffer the relation between
depression and suicidal thinking (Hobbs &
McLaren, 2009). That is, the relation of de-
pression to suicidal ideation is weaker among
high agency persons.Factors Associated with Suicide Among Adolescents
Like adults, suicide and suicide attempts in
adolescents are associated with other mental
disorders, in particular, depression and sub-
stance abuse (Langhinrichsen-Rohling et al.,
2009). It is not clear whether suicide and sui-
cidal behavior are more strongly associated
with depression in males or females. One lon-
gitudinal study of 14- to 18-year-olds showed
that a previous suicide attempt predicted
a subsequent suicide attempt by age 24 in
women but not men (Lewinsohn, Rohde, &
Seeley, 2001), suggesting more of a history
of suicidal problems in females. One studyOne antecedent to suicide is the
breakup of a relationship. The risk of suicide
is higher among unmarried, divorced, and
widowed persons than married persons but
this risk is larger for men than women (Payne
et al., 2008), consistent with the research on
marital status in Chapter 11. Thus suicide
rates in men are linked, in part, to the absence
of marriage, which may signify the absence
of emotional support. Women’s greater inte-
gration into social relationships may protect
them from suicide. Women not only receive
support from network members but provide
support to them as well. The fact that women
have people to take care of, such as a husband
and children, may make them less likely to
commit suicide. An in-depth analysis of sui-
cides in the United Kingdom showed that
relationship difficulties were equally likely to
be present in male and female suicides but re-
lationship difficulties were more likely to be
the primary trigger in the case of males than
females (Shiner et al., 2009).
Suicide rates are higher among those of
a lower socioeconomic status and have been
linked to unemployment and financial prob-
lems (Payne et al., 2008; Shiner et al., 2009).
These associations are stronger among men
than women. The recent economic turn-
down has been associated with a number of
high-profile male suicides, including a for-
mer executive of Enron and a French invest-
ment manager who lost substantial sums of
money in the Madoff scandal. Gender roles
may explain this relation, as unemployment
is a threat to the traditional male provider
role. In a study of 34 European nations, the
per capita income of the country was related
to the suicide rate of the country’s men but
not women (Sher, 2006).
Suicidal thinking and suicide attempts
are more common among sexual minor-
ity persons than heterosexuals (Cochran &M13_HELG0185_04_SE_C13.indd 536 6/21/11 12:55 PM