SUICIDE AMONG YOUNG RURAL AUSTRALIANS 1964-1993 - A COMPARISON WITH METROPOLITAN TRENDS

The study tested hypotheses that from 1964 to 1993: (1) suicide rates among Australian 15- to 24-year-old males rose more sharply in rural t han metropolitan areas; (2) firearm suicide rates among 15- to 24-year -old males, declining throughout Australia recently, rose continuously in rural areas; (3) suicide rates among 15- to 24-year-old females di d not change significantly in either metropolitan or rural areas. Suic ides of those aged 10-24 years recorded by the Australian Bureau of St atistics (ABS) were classified according to the subject's residential grouping. Rates were calculated using ABS population data correspondin g to these groupings. Results were analysed using log-linear analysis and chi-square statistics. The results supported the first two hypothe ses, but not the third. Suicide rates for 15- to 24-year-old males ros e by a factor of 2.2 in metropolitan areas, by 4-fold in towns with po pulations between 4,000 and 25,000, and by 12-fold in towns with popul ations less than 4,000. Male firearm suicide rates continued to rise i n rural areas, and the greatest proportion of deaths in those location s were by firearms, though male hanging rates increased most in recent years in all locations. Female youth suicide rates did not change ove rall, but in towns with populations less than 4,000, they increased 4. 5-fold. Possible explanations for this epidemic, which are mostly spec ulative and require confirmation, are discussed.