COUNTRY-MUSIC, SUICIDE, AND SPURIOUSNESS

Stack and Gundlach (1992) tested and supported the hypothesis that the greater the air time devoted to country music in metropolitan areas, the greater the white suicide rate will be. We could not replicate thi s effect (Maguire & Snipes 1994), and Stack and Gundlach (1994) respon ded with a criticism of our methods, more specifically demonstrating m easurement error in our construction of suicide rates. Here we show th at this criticism sidesteps our most relevant critique of their study. Yet, we heed their advice, reattempt the replication using their own white suicide data and still fail to produce a significant effect of c ountry music on white suicide. Although the two are related bivariatel y, controlling for divorce, poverty, southern region, and gun availabi lity results in a near-zero multivariate effect.