[net.games.frp] 60 Minutes' D&D Segment

hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath) (09/23/85)

In article <2356@sdcrdcf.UUCP> barryg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Lee Gold) writes:
>60 Minutes recently had a rather biased segment on Dungeons and Dragons as
>a possible trigger of teen-age suicide.  I listened carefully and managed
>to come up with two facts admidst all the anecdotal, unsubstantiated
>generalizations:
>	1.  About three millions youngsters play D&D
>	2.  60 Minutes did a LOT of research and came up with 28 suicides
>that might have been related to D&D over FIVE years.
>
>Does anyone out there know what the average US teenage suicide rate per
>million is?  I'd like to know if D&D players are higher or lower than
>average.

I just called the L.A.  Suicide Prevention Center and got some figures  for
L.A.  County  for fiscal year '79/'80 (best they could do on short notice).
During that period, out of 1088 total  suicides  defined  as  such  by  the
County Coroner's office, 64 were teenagers.

Figuring the population of the county then as roughly 5  million  (?)  with
19%  of  that  between  11  and 19 (according to a professional demographer
friend of mine) that's an annualized rate of,  roughly,  6.74  per  hundred
thousand.  60  Minutes'  figures give an annualized rate of .19 per hundred
thousand (ignoring the probability that some  of  their  cases  would  have
committed suicide anyway).

That would make D&D players less likely to suicide than the  average  teen-
ager by a factor of 35 to 1.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe)
Citicorp(+)TTI                    Common Sense is what tells you that a ten
3100 Ocean Park Blvd.             pound weight falls ten times as fast as a
Santa Monica, CA  90405           one pound weight.
(213) 450-9111, ext. 2483
{philabs,randvax,trwrb,vortex}!ttidca!ttidcc!hollombe

hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath) (09/27/85)

I'm following up my own article after doing a little  more  research.  I've
been  looking  at  national  suicide figures for 1981 (latest available) as
published in the _Statistical Abstract of the United States_,  a  book  put
out by the Bureau of the Census.

Unfortunately, their age breakdown doesn't coincide with the 10 to 19  year
definition  of  teenagers.  However,  any  way  you  look at the stats, D&D
players appear to be a lower risk for suicide.

The suicide rate for ages 15 - 24 over the period 1961 - 1981 is  12.3  per
100,000.

Rates per 100,000 broken down by sex and age for 1981 (caucasians):
                          age     male    female
			  5-14      .8     .3
			  15-24   21.1    3.8

For comparison with 60 Minutes'  figures  see  below.  Did  anyone  get  60
Minutes'  figures  broken  down  by  age?  I  missed the show because I was
playing D&D when it aired ( :-) does that make me an iron?).

>       ... 60  Minutes'  figures give an annualized rate of .19 per hundred
>thousand (ignoring the probability that some  of  their  cases  would  have
>committed suicide anyway). ...

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe)
Citicorp(+)TTI                    Common Sense is what tells you that a ten
3100 Ocean Park Blvd.             pound weight falls ten times as fast as a
Santa Monica, CA  90405           one pound weight.
(213) 450-9111, ext. 2483
{philabs,randvax,trwrb,vortex}!ttidca!ttidcc!hollombe

nazgul@apollo.uucp (Kee Hinckley) (10/03/85)

I don't have any figures for suicides (my father works in that area and I
would ask him, but he's on vacation) but I would say that 12.3 per 100,000
is definitely low.  The problem is that teenage suicides have been increasing
dramatically in the past decade, so a figure from 1961 to 1981 is not
a good reflection of what is happening currently.  The only thing I know
is that people have been refering to it as being of 'epidemic' proportions.


                                                -kee
                                                ...decvax!wanginst!apollo!nazgul