STANDARDIZATION OF THE MALE SUICIDE RATE- BASED ON AGE - DUE TO GENERATION OR RECOMPOSITION OF THE LIFE-CYCLE

In France, over the last twenty-five years, the trend in the age-based male suicide rate has undergone a number of important changes: in the past, the rate increased steadily with age, today, the rates for diff erent age groups are similar; more precisely, for the under-40 age gro up the rate has increased, and for the 50-70 age group there has been a decrease. Two different statistical models give an illustration of t his evolution. The first is a classical model where an attempt has bee n made to separate the effects of age, generation and period of time; it leads to the conclusion that certain generations are more prone to suicide than others. The second model considers the recomposition of t he life cycle (effect resulting from the interaction of age and period of time) as having a major effect, in other words, that age, young an d old age, do not have the same meaning in relation to suicide in 1995 as they did in 1950. This study takes into account in particular the us and, more briefly, fifteen other countries. In fact, as both models correspond well to the figures provided, it is only by means of a soc iological analysis of the situation, comparing examples from distincti ve social areas, that one is more likely to find that when economic gr owth slackens there is a redistribution of social status based on age.