SOCIOECONOMIC INDEXES AND SUICIDE RATE IN QUEENSLAND

Suicides identified from a suicide register were classified according to socioeconomic indices of statistical local areas. Suicide rates wer e correlated with socioeconomic disadvantage, as measured by the propo rtion of persons of low income, low education and high unemployment li ving in an area Suicide rates were inversely related to the proportion of families on high income, who owned their homes and who had large h ouses. Suicide rates of older people (55 years and over) were least in fluenced by these factors. For females, only the most disadvantaged ar eas had higher suicide rates. In other age and sex groupings, relation ships were mostly linear.