The number of citations a scholarly work receives is a common measure of its impact on the scientific literature; "citation classics" are the most highly cited works. The content of "Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior" ("SLTB") citation classics is described here. The impact of "SLTB" citation classics is compared to their counterparts in…

This article provides the first quantitative review of the literature on music and suicidality. Multivariate logistic regression techniques are applied to 90 findings from 21 studies. Investigations employing ecological data on suicide completions are 19.2 times more apt than other studies to report a link between music and suicide. More recent…

Previous work on Russian roulette has focused on data from large cities. It is unclear if the epidemiological patterns based on large cities will replicate for the nation as a whole, and if the influence of minority status will be moderated by urban context. The present investigation fills these gaps by providing descriptive epidemiological data…

Provoking police officers to kill oneself or "suicide by cop" (SBC) has received scholarly as well as public attention. The extent to which film representations of SBC reflect SBC in society in relation to danger, depression, and other features was assessed in this study. Data on cinematic portrayals of SBC are from 16 American films;…

That males have higher suicide rates than females is one of the most empirically documented social facts in suicidology, but the reasons for this continue to be debated. For the present paper, we tested a neglected contributing factor to the gender suicide ratio: wound site or the area of the body that is wounded in firearm suicides. Males may…

Location of suicide is a neglected area in suicidology, but is important because location is related to the presence of motivated rescuers who can prevent suicides. The present study analyzes the predictors of suicide in a location that is apt to be free of motivated rescuers: the motel room. Data from the files of a medical examiner in a…

Analysis of effect of divorce on suicide using micro- and individual-level data provided some support for both status integration theory (predicting decline in effect of divorce on suicide) and Durkheimian perspective (predicting no change or increase in suicide). Gap between suicide rates of divorced and married, which has narrowed as divorce has…

Considered influence of social contexts in examining the impact of publicized suicide stories on suicide by collecting data on widely publicized suicide stories during the World War I decade. Results showed that publicized suicide stories during war time had no impact on suicide while peacetime suicide stories were associated with an increase in…

Examined marital status and suicide using individual-level data on 10,906 deaths. Found that low marital integration significantly increased odds of dying from suicide, independent of alcohol consumption. Low marital integration also affected suicide indirectly through its association with alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption was more closely…

The epidemiology of a neglected form of suicidal behavior, Russian roulette, is addressed. Also tested is an explanation of racial differences based on the opportunity theory of deviant behavior related to the availability of revolvers, necessary weapons with which to play Russian roulette. Data refer to 15 cases of Russian roulette found through…

Examined impact of Catholicism on suicide in two socioculturally different regions of Louisiana. Analysis of county suicide rates revealed no evidence for contextual effect. Catholicism did not reduce suicide in historically French Catholic, southern region, nor did it increase suicide in historically Anglo-Saxon, Protestant northern region.…

Tests nonadditive model of suggestion/imitation, predicting that suicide stories will have greatest effect on suicide in times of high suicidogenic conditions measured in terms of unemployment. Data on U.S. monthly suicide rate supported nonadditive model based on interaction effect between media stories and rate of unemployment; it did not prove…

Assessed relationship between heavy metal music and suicide with data on heavy metal magazine subscriptions and youth suicide in 50 states. Found that, controlling for other predictors of suicide, greater strength of metal subculture, higher youth suicide rate, suggests that music perhaps nurtures suicidal tendencies already present in subculture.…

Explores the relationship between divorce and suicide through a multiple regression analysis. Results indicate that the incidence of divorce is closely associated with the rate of suicide even after controls for the influence of the effects of age composition, race, the rate of interstate migration, and income. (Author/BEF)

Tests relationships between indicators of domestic integration, focusing on divorce and suicide with data from the United States from 1933 to 1970. For the whole period, an increase in the divorce rate was associated with an increase in the suicide rate independent of trends in unemployment and birth. (Author/HLM)