Why do men commit more suicide than women?

Here are the statistics, I was thinking about it, and asked why:

Total .............30,622..........83.9.........10.8..........1.3
Males .............24,672..........67.6.........17.6..........2.1
Females.............5,950..........16.3..........4.1..........0.5
Whites.............27,710..........75.9.........11.9..........1.3
Nonwhites...........2,912...........8.0..........5.6..........0.9
Blacks..............1,957...........5.4..........5.3..........0.7
Elderly (65+ yrs.) .5,393..........14.8.........15.3..........0.3
Young (15-24 yrs.)..3,971..........10.9..........9.9.........12.3

www.suicide.org...

Now check it out, male suicide is 5 times higher than female.

White suicide is approximately 10 times higher than blacks.

What does this mean?

This is a mystery that needs to be solve, and I'm hoping ATS can help me.

Are men facing more stress than women? Or are more men mentally unstable than women.

Are White people living in worse condition than black people?

This is a complete mind boggle for me.

I don't know what to make of these statistics.

Here is a more recent one(2005):

Men...........25,907
Women......6,730

www.suicide.org...

OK?? Now again, the numbers are very similar, and the ratio is very similar.

Whites........29,527
Blacks........1,992

www.suicide.org...

Against, the ration is very similar, WTF?

What do you make of these numbers, what do they mean?

oz

reply to post by oozyism


Its who's more successful women have more attempts. Men use firearms, and such when women will often choose drug overdose. A shotgun to the head is a bit harder to come back from... Drug overdoses are easier to deal with than lack of a head.

reply to post by Xiamara

Emergency room visits for self-inflicted injury: 400,000

www.suicide.org...
Now I want to know what percentage of those are women?

reply to post by oozyism


If you find that number its quite a bit harder I had to do a report on it. Women just want to die looking pretty so the top 3 if I remember is Drugs, suffocation then poison, and I think after that is cutting drowning, and Starvation was somewhere on the list.

Men was Fire arms and on your stats they use fire arms over 56.8% of the time when women choose 32.4% Biiig difference.

reply to post by oozyism


Really I think its probably reproductive competition. Let's face it, despite all the pretend talk of living in a male controlled world WOMEN are now in full control. Because of feminine equality women have gained unspeakable power over men. Used to be, in primitive days, wives were essentially property but now that equality has come along they are free to wield their feminine wiles against us with full ferocity and don't have to worry as much about ending up married against their will to some jerk... So women now have the ability to choose mates and this drives the male ego to the breaking point and creates massive stress as men compete for women... At least that's my hypothesis... for now.

Women don't commit suicide, they cause it..!!

reply to post by Titen-Sxull


How does that explain the massive suicide rate of whites over blacks>? It has to be all connected in away/

Your hypothesis could be correct, but aren't women more stressed than men, hence the majority of single families are women, like around 80% I think. That should put huge stress on women, hence work, clean, take care of kids, shopping etc etc etc

reply to post by oozyism

I think it is because guys are far less rational when they are upset... as a man doing something stupid when I'm hurt is almost second nature. For the most part it is saying something stupid or sending a letter (or Email) nowadays, that you will regret as soon as you send it. While some guys go full out, and take their lives. Woman on the other hand are naturally more selfish, and wouldn't want to go all the way, but only go far enough to achieve their means..

Women attempt suicide for attention
Men attempt suicide for death

as pointed out, women have more cases of attempts and fails...men tend to get the job done.


suicide is a bad choice either way...I mean, if your going to kill yourself, might as well just change your lifestyle instead...go hike across a country, or join some group...kill the life you had without killing a life...

I find it difficult to understand suicides...beyond severe mental issues or pain. But like, killing yourself over someone else...to me thats just..well, insane really. I dont care how much a person means to me and what happened, ending life is simply not an option. I won't say the typical "cowards way out"...because it does take balls to kill yourself actually. but I will say it is exceptionally selfish either way.

This isn't really an answer....just a post to get me up to my 20.

Why do men die before their wives?


They want to.

During my military career, I had to take more than a few "classes" on suicide. In those classesm I learned that when most girls try to commit suicide, they are only trying to get attention and so will take a bunch of aspirin or slit their wrists, as a cry for help. Men on the other hand, will go out with a bang, literally. Why is that? Well, most likely due to testosterone. Testosterone is a hormone that causes us to take risks, crave excitment and high adrenaline things like that. The male body has about 10 times as much of the hormone as the female body, generally speaking of course.

Also, you look at social stigmas. Men are far too often less likely to seek help, as men don't want to appear weak. Our societal gender roles dictate that males have to be strong and do things on our own. Far too often, it is not worth the risk of male to be seen as weak, by asking for help with depression or mental issues.

I'm also thinking that a man's role in taking care of the family, may just add a wee-bit more stress. Men are often the ones who bring home the bread and while raising kids is stressful enough, try going to the corporate boxing ring, where you duke it out with everyone else to claim one more rung on the ladder. Then after that, you come home and have to raise the kids. The weight of the family is often the male. Now I know that this is becoming less and less the case, but it may figure into the statistics.

In sum, I think that many women try "suicide" attempts, though generally speaking, they are just cries for attention and it is usually something like slitting wrists or OD'ing on aspirin. A male on the other hand will put a shotgun in his mouth and go out with a bang. No cry for attention what-so-ever. Also, women are more likely to seek out help, as their isn't a social stigma attached it, and so don't get to the point of suicide as often as males. However, even if they do get to the point of suicide and really intend to kill themselves, they are less likely to do something that will ensure their death and this is because they lack testosterone.


--airspoon

reply to post by oozyism


Actually I take back my theory, well sort of, I do still think women having independence and stress with having to compete for women is a contributing factor but I also think airspoon has it mostly right with the testosterone thing.

Here is some stats for you..

Link
* In 2006, 33,300 (approximately 11 per 100,000) people died by suicide in the U.S.7
* More than 90 percent of people who kill themselves have a diagnosable mental disorder, most commonly a depressive disorder or a substance abuse disorder.8
* The highest suicide rates in the U.S. are found in white men over age 85.9
* Four times as many men as women die by suicide9; however, women attempt suicide two to three times as often as men.10

I heard that 90% of those people who commit suicide are considered mentally screwed up in some way or another.. They said somewhere of the 40,000 people who suicide each yr 90% of them are mentally ill.. sorry repeated..

40% of those who are mentally ill have Asbergers Syndrome..
I only know this because i am unoffically considered Aspie..

::EDIT::

I know why we try and suicide.. We dont belong where we are now.. That is why we do this.. I am referring to asberger people... Not referring to anyone else..
I can say this cause I have done this more than a few times.. tried i mean..





EDIT AGAIN

I like how you people talk about change this change that.. Sometimes it isn't as easy as that.. I really wish some of you would not talk about things you know nothing about..

Suicides think of every possible thing to do before they typically end their lives.. and most people who do it you don't even know why they did it.. So I would leave them alone.. I know some try and suicide for attn, I have seen a few people do this both male and female.. in my attempts i wasn't looking for a pity party i was looking for a better way out.. and now that i didn't succeed i feel that i am torturing myself constantly being here on this planet..

So really don't talk about something you know nothing about.. You may mean well but you don't know what you are saying..

This reminds me of a quote by George Carlin:

"...men are four times more likely than women to commit suicide, even though women attempt it more. So men are better at it. That's something else you gals oughta be working on. Well if you wanna be truly equal you're gonna have to start taking your lives in greater numbers."

I think men commit suicide more than women for a number of reasons:

1: Men are under more stress to produce and perform in today's society, particularly financially.
2: Men are conditioned to believe depression is a sign of weakness, so rather than seek help, they commit suicide.
3: Men are naturally programmed for violence and destruction whereas women are more emotional; therefore death becomes more of a viable option for men and the method used is typically more successful.

...and...

4: Marriage.

In all seriousness, all it requires is a simple understanding of psychology to grasp why men commit suicide more than women. It is not only the stresses of our society but also the natural and artificial programming of the male psyche that are major contributing factors to a man's decision to voluntarily no longer exist.

It's called marriage and it's the biggest scam going...

But what i dont get is why most are white??

Originally posted by skischoow
But what i dont get is why most are white??

75% of the United States population are white as opposed to 12.4% that are black.

It's as simple as that.

Originally posted by ThichHeaded
40% of those who are mentally ill have Asbergers Syndrome..
I only know this because i am unoffically considered Aspie..

I, too, unofficially have Asperger's Syndrome. I know exactly what you are thinking and feeling. I am going through the same troubles at the moment.

That is for another time and place to discuss, though. I only brought it up here because I cannot send U2Us yet.

Originally posted by skischoow
But what i dont get is why most are white??

I take it you are referring to the rate rather than the total number? It is true that non-whites commit suicide at a much lower rate (12.9% to 5.6% to be See statistics).

Originally posted by skischoow
But what i dont get is why most are white??

I think I can answer that one. There are several articles on the net concerning men committing suicide due to child support or alimony. Most cases these are court ordered and cannot be avoided. White couples tend to marry and have children, other ethnicities tend to breed children without the marital bond and therefore no court order. There are several cases on the net called "suicide by wife". I actually knew one of these people who had a court ordered garnishment of his wages which exceeded his earnings. He was basically working for free as he never saw a penny from his paycheck. No matter where he tried to find work, the garnishment would follow him. He could not survive himself so he took his own life. Courts are not compassionate toward white males in general when it comes to spousal support. Women and Courts need to understand that you cannot drain gold out of a turnip. If the wife or the courts push the male too far, there is no out for him except suicide. And then nobody gets a dime.