Epidemiological studies have long reported that, in North America, patterns of suicidal behavior differ by gender: women “attempt” suicide; men “complete” suicide. Theories of suicidal behavior also differ according to gender. Traditionally, women are said to be suicidal for love; men, for pride and performance. Are these gender differences “real?” Are women's attempts “failed” suicides? Do suicidal men “succeed” when they kill themselves? Is women's self-definition dependent on love? Is men's dependent on performance? Evidence currently available does not support traditional theories of gender and suicidal behavior. As culturally shared assumptions, however, traditional theories may influence the suicidal choices of women and men, as well as the assumptions and research methods of suicidologists.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
LesterD., Sex Differences in Suicidal Behavior, in Gender and Disordered Behavior: Sex Differences in Psychopathology, GombergE. S. and FranksV. (eds.), Brunner/Mazel, New York, pp. 287–300, 1979.
2.
WilsonM., Suicidal Behavior: Toward an Explanation of Differences in Female and Male Rates, Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 11, pp. 131–139, 1981.
3.
CanettoS. S., Gender and Suicide in the Elderly, Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 22, pp. 80–97, 1992.
4.
LinehanM. M., Toward a Theory of Sex Differences in Suicidal Behavior, Crisis Intervention, 3 pp. 93–101, 1971.
5.
WeissmanM. M., The Epidemiology of Suicide Attempts: 1960 to 1971, Archives of General Psychiatry, 30, pp. 737–746, 1874.
6.
WexlerL.WeissmanM. M., and KaslS. V., Suicide Attempts 1970–1975: Updating a United States Study and Comparisons with International Trends, British Journal of Psychiatry, 132, pp. 180–185, 1978.
7.
KesslerR. C. and McRaeJ. A., Trends in the Relationship between Sex and Attempted Suicide, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, pp. 98–110, 1983.
8.
JarvisJ. K.FerrenceR. G.JohnsonF. G., and WhiteheadP. C., Sex and Age Patterns in Self-Injury, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 17, pp. 145–154, 1976.
9.
KirslingR. A., Review of Suicide among Elderly Persons, Psychological Reports, 59, pp. 359–366, 1986.
10.
DiggoryJ. C., United States Suicide Rates 1922–1968: An Analysis of Some Trends, in Suicidology: Contemporary Developments, ShneidmanE. S. (ed.), Grune and Stratton, New York, pp. 30–69, 1976.
11.
MantonK. G.BlazerD. G., and WoodburyM. A., Suicide in Middle Age and Later Life: Sex and Race Specific Life Tables and Cohort Analyses, Journal of Gerontology, 42, pp. 219–227, 1987.
12.
FrederickC. J., Current Trends in Suicidal Behavior in the United States, American Journal of Psychotherapy, 32, pp. 172–200, 1978.
13.
LindenL. L. and BreedW., The Demographic Epidemiology of Suicide, in Suicidology: Contemporary Developments, ShneidmanE. S. (ed.), Grune and Stratton, New York, pp. 71–98, 1976.
14.
McIntoshJ. L. and JewellB. J., Sex Differences Trends in Completed Suicide, Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 16, pp. 16–27, 1986.
15.
DyckR. J.NewmanS. C., and ThompsonA. H., Suicide Trends in Canada, 1956–1981, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 77, pp. 411–419, 1988.
16.
McClureG. M. G., Suicide in England and Wales, 1975–1984, British Journal of Psychiatry, 150, pp. 309–314, 1987.
17.
BreedW., Five Components of a Basic Suicide Syndrome, Life Threatening Behavior, 2, pp. 3–18, 1972.
18.
MarisR. W., Social Forces in Urban Suicide, The Dorsey Press, Homewood Illinois, 1969.
19.
FreudS., Mourning and Melancholia, in The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, StracheyJ. (ed. and trans.), (vol. 14), Hogarth Press, London, pp. 243–258, 1957, Original work published 1917.
20.
WoldC. I., Subgroupings of Suicidal People, Omega, 2, pp. 19–29, 1971.
21.
MaltsbergerJ. T. and BuieD., Countertransference Hate in the Treatment of Suicidal Patients, Archives of General Psychiatry, 30, pp. 625–633, 1974.
22.
BirtchnellJ., Some Familial and Clinical Characteristics of Female Suicidal Psychiatric Patients, British Journal of Psychiatry, 138, pp. 381–390, 1981.
23.
SchrutA and MichelsT., Suicidal, Divorced, and Discarded Women, Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis, 2, pp. 329–347, 1974.
24.
SimpsonM. A., Self-Mutilation and Suicide, in Suicidology: Contemporary Developments, ShneidmanE. S., (ed.), Grune and Stratton, New York, pp. 281–315, 1976.
25.
CharW. F., The Hysterical Spouse, Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality, 19, pp. 123–133, 1985.
26.
McIntoshJ. L.HubbardR. W., and SantosJ. F., Suicide among the Elderly: A Review of Issues with Case Studies, Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 4, pp. 63–74, 1981.
27.
KushnerH. I., Women and Suicide in Historical Perspective, Signs, 10, pp. 537–552, 1985.
28.
BeckA. T.LesterD., and KovacsM., Attempted Suicides by Males and Females, Psychological Reports, 33, pp. 865–866, 1973.
29.
BreedW., Occupational Mobility and Suicide among White Males, American Sociological Review, 28, pp. 179–188, 1963.
30.
CathS. H., Suicide in the Middle Years: Some Reflections on the Annihilation of the Self, in Mid-Life: Developmental and Clinical Issues, NormanW. H. and ScaramellaT. J. (eds.), Brunner/Mazel, New York, pp. 53–72, 1980.
31.
FieldsendR. and LowensteinE., Quarrels, Separations and Infidelity in the Two Days Proceeding Self-Poisoning Episodes, British Journal of Medical Psychology, 54, pp. 349–352, 1981.
32.
PaykelE. S.PrusoffB. A., and MyersJ. K., Suicide Attempts and Recent Life Events, Archives of General Psychiatry, 32, pp. 327–333, 1975.
33.
StephensB. J., Suicidal Women and their Relationships with Husbands, Boyfriends, and Lovers, Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 15, pp. 77–89, 1985.
34.
VinodaK. S., Personality Characteristics of Attempted Suicides, British Journal of Psychiatry, 112, pp. 1143–1150, 1970.
35.
BreedW., Suicide and Loss in Social Interaction, in Essays in Self-Destruction, ShneidmanE. S. (ed.), Science House, New York, pp. 188–201, 1967.
36.
RobinsE.SchmidtE. H., and O'NeilP., Some Interrelations of Social Factors and Clinical Diagnosis in Attempted Suicide: A Study of 109 Patients, American Journal of Psychiatry, 114, pp. 221–231, 1957.
37.
CanettoS. S.FeldmanL. B.LupeiR. A., and BlakeS., Couple Dynamics and Suicidal Behavior in Young Adult and Adult Suicidal Women, Paper presented at the.
38.
First Combined Meeting of the American Association of Suicidology and the International Association for Suicide Prevention, San Francisco, California, 1987.
39.
LinehanM. M., Suicide and Attempted Suicide: Study of Perceived Sex Differences, Perceptual and Motor Skills, 37, pp. 31–34, 1973.
40.
StillionJ. M.WhiteH.EdwardsP. J., and McDowellE. E., Ageism and Sexism in Suicide Attitudes, Death Studies, 13, pp. 247–261, 1989.
41.
WhiteH. and StillionJ. M., Sex Differences in Attitudes toward Suicide, Psychology of Women Quarterly, 12, pp. 357–366, 1988.
42.
BleierR., Science and Gender, Pergamon Press, New York, 1984.
43.
NeuringerC., Affect Configurations and Changes in Women who Threaten Suicide Following a Crisis, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 50, pp. 182–186, 1982.
44.
CummingE. and LazerC., Kinship Structure and Suicide: A Theoretical Link, Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 18 pp. 271–281, 1981.
45.
GoveW. R., Sex Marital Status and Suicide, Journal of Health and Social Behvaior, 13, pp. 204–213, 1972.
46.
TrovatoF., A Longitudinal Analysis of Divorce and Suicide in Canada. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 49, pp. 193–203, 1987.
47.
DavisR. A., Female Labor Force Participation, Status Integration and Suicide, 1950–1969, Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 11, pp. 111–123, 1981.
48.
StackS., Suicide: A Comparative Analysis, Social Forces, 57, pp. 644–653, 1978.
49.
Hoffman SteffensmeierR., Suicide and the Contemporary Woman: Are Male and Female Suicide Rates Converging?Sex Roles, 10, pp. 613–631, 1984.
50.
KaplanA. G. and KleinR. B., Women and Suicide, in Suicide: Understanding and Responding, JacobsD. J. and BrownH. N. (eds.), International University Press, Madison, Connecticut, pp. 257–282, 1989.
51.
JohnsonK. K., Durkheim Revisited: Why Do Women Kill Themselves?Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 9, pp. 145–153, 1979.
52.
CummingE.LazerC., and ChisholmL., Suicide as an Index of Role Strain in Employed and Not Employed Women in British Columbia. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 12, pp. 462–470, 1975.
53.
KesslerR. C. and McRaeJ. A., The Effect of Wives' Employment on the Mental Health of Married Men and Women, American Sociological Review, 47, pp. 216–227, 1982.
54.
LyonsM. J., Suicide in Later Life: Some Putative Causes with Implications for Prevention, Journal of Community Psychology, 12, pp. 379–388, 1984.
55.
StenbackA., Depression and Suicidal Behavior in Old Age, in Handbook of Mental Health and Aging, BirrenJ. E. and SloaneB. (eds.), Englewood Cliffs, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, pp. 616–652, 1980.
56.
HarryJ., Parasuicide, Gender and Gender Deviance, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, pp. 350–361, 1983.
57.
OsgoodN. J., Suicide in the Elderly: Are We Heeding the Warnings?Post-Graduate Medicine, 72, pp. 123–130, 1982.
58.
EssaM. and Howell-BurkeD., Toward Reducing the Morbidity and Mortality of the Elderly Bereaved, Nebraska Medical Journal, 69, pp. 272–274, 1984.
59.
Nolen-HoeksemaS., Sex Differences in Unipolar Depression: Evidence and Theory, Psychological Bulletin, 101, pp. 259–282, 1987.
60.
LivsonF., Coming Together in the Middle Years: A Longitudinal Study of Sex Role Convergence, paper presented at the Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, New York, New York, 1976, October.
61.
GouldS. J., Ever Since Darwin: Reflections in Natural History, Norton, New York, 1977.
