Income Inequality and Risk of Suicide in New York City Neighborhoods: A Multilevel Case-Control Study

• Published in: Suicide & life-threatening behavior Vol. 35; no. 4; pp. 448 - 459
• Main Authors: Miller, Jeffrey R., Piper, Tinka Markham, Ahern, Jennifer, Tracy, Melissa, Tardiff, Kenneth J., Vlahov, David, Galea, Sandro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.08.2005; Guilford Press
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adults; Age Differences; At Risk Persons; Case Studies; Case-Control Studies; Community Relations; Coping; Correlation; Demography; Evidence; Female; Humans; Income; Income Inequality; Individual Characteristics; Land Use; Male; Middle Aged; Neighborhoods; New York; New York City - epidemiology; New York City, New York; Place of Residence; Population Education; Records (Forms); Residence Characteristics; Risk assessment; Risk Factors; Social Environment; Social Structure; Socioeconomic Factors; Socioeconomic Influences; Statistical Significance; Suicide; Suicide, Attempted - statistics & numerical data; Suicides & suicide attempts; New York; New York City; United States > US; New York City New York
• ISSN: 0363-0234; 1943-278X
• DOI: 10.1521/suli.2005.35.4.448

Evidence on the relationship between income inequality and suicide is inconsistent. Data from the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for all fatal injuries was collected to conduct a multilevel case‐control study. In multilevel models, suicide decedents (n = 374) were more likely than accident controls (n = 453) to reside in neighborhoods with greater income inequality even after controlling for individual characteristics; this relation was modified by age with an effect overall and among decedents aged 15–34 but not among decedents 35–64. These data suggest that income inequality may contribute to the risk of suicide in younger adults.