Suicide and neighbourhood in Northern Ireland

Research shows that suicide risk is related both to individual characteristics such as age and gender and household ones such as marital status and socioeconomic circumstances but it is less clear whether place of residence constitutes an additional, independent risk over and above these factors. A five-year study of 1,116, 748 people in Northern Ireland found 566 suicides among the population over that time. Suicide risks were lowest for women and for those who were married or cohabiting. Indicators of individual and household disadvantage and economic and health status at the time of the census were also strongly related to the risk of suicide. There were higher rates of suicide in the more deprived and socially fragmented areas but these could be explained by individual and household factors rather than the geographical location per se. There was no significant relationship between population density and risk of suicide.

O'Reilly, Dermot ... [et al] - Area factors and suicide: 5-year follow-up of the Northern Ireland population British Journal of Psychiatry February 2008, 192(2), 106-111