[net.suicide] Botched suicides: men vs women

gam@amdahl.UUCP (Gordon A. Moffett) (10/28/84)

> from what I read, more suicides are botched
> by women than men.  Wonder why?

This is true.  The favored theory for this is that men are more
success-oriented that women -- the are EXPECTED to excell at every-
thing.  Failure at suicide would be probably the most humiliating
thing for a man, since at that point he will have felt he has failed
not only in life, but even in trying to end it.

Women are taught to be passive and therefore choose more passive
or unsuccessful means of suicide.

Men tend choose guns as their tools to their own end; women tend to
choose drug overdoses or asphyxiation [had to look that one up!] by
natural gas (ovens) or carbon monoxide (car exhaust).

While women attempt suicide more often that men, men have three
times the death rate by suicide of women.
-- 
~ Oh, friends, no more of these sad tones! ~

Gordon A. Moffett		...!{ihnp4,hplabs,amd,nsc}!amdahl!gam

[ This is just me talking. ]

adolph@ssc-vax.UUCP (11/02/84)

*** YOUR MESSAGE ***

> While women attempt suicide more often that men, men have three
> times the death rate by suicide of women.

The actual statistics say that three times as many women attempt suicide,
but three times as many men as women succeed.  So among attempters, men 
have women's success rate beaten 9 to 1.

Another interesting statistic: most women who attempt are 18-24, and use
mellow things like pills.  Most men who attempt are mid-40s, and use 
things like guns and Golden Gate / Brooklyn Bridges, which explains why
they're so good at it.

[Information obtained from "Peer Counseling Skills and Perspectives", 
Vincent D'Andrea, MD, 1983.  Actually, it came out of my head, but that's
where I learned it.]

					-- Mark A.
					...uw-beaver!ssc-vax!adolph

   "Computers are like preppies: they just boil around in their own way 
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