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Does Gender Explain the Relationship Between Occupation and Suicide? Findings from a Meta-Analytic Study

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Abstract

This report investigated whether suicide risk by occupational groups differed for males and females. We examined this using a sub-set of articles examined in a recent meta-analysis and stratified by gender. For certain occupational groups, males and females had a similar risk of suicide (the military, community service occupations, managers, and clerical workers). There was some indication of gender differences for other occupations (technicians, plant and machine operators and ship’s deck crew, craft and related trades workers, and professionals), although these did not reach statistical significance. These findings highlight the complexity of the relationship between occupation and suicide and suggest the possible role of a range of individual, work-related and social-environmental risk factors that may differ for males and females.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. McCaughey VicHealth Centre for Community Wellbeing, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Level 5, 207 Bouverie Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia

    A. J. Milner

  2. Centre for Health Policy, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    M. S. Spittal

  3. Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    J. Pirkis

  4. Population Health Strategic Research Centre, School of Health & Social Development, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, Australia

    A. D. LaMontagne

Authors
  1. A. J. Milner
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  2. M. S. Spittal
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  3. J. Pirkis
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  4. A. D. LaMontagne
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Correspondence to A. J. Milner.

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Milner, A.J., Spittal, M.S., Pirkis, J. et al. Does Gender Explain the Relationship Between Occupation and Suicide? Findings from a Meta-Analytic Study. Community Ment Health J 52, 568–573 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9889-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9889-x

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