Recent Trends in Parasuicide (‘Attempted Suicide’) and Unemployment among Men in Edinburgh

Abstract

The onset of economic instability and recession in the mid-1970s was marked by a renewal of concern about the possible relationship between morbidity, mortality and economic change. Nevertheless, it has been suggested (Thomann, 1983) that there is still inadequate understanding and discussion of major research findings on this topic and their potential policy implications. At a Symposium on The Influence of Economic Instability on Health’ sponsored by the World Health Organisation in 1981, participants expressed the view that more conscious efforts should now be made to heighten professional, political and public awareness of the inter-connectedness of economic activity and health (Barnard, 1983). In this chapter I aim to contribute towards this objective by reporting findings from an investigation into the relationship between unemployment and parasuicide (‘attempted suicide’) in Edinburgh during the years 1968–83.¹