Rural adolescents commit suicide at roughly twice the rate of their urban peers, according to a study published in the May issue of the journal JAMA Pediatrics. Although imbalances between city and country have long persisted, “we weren’t expecting that the disparities would be increasing over time,” said the study’s lead author, Cynthia Fontanella, a psychologist at Ohio State University.
“The rates are higher, and the gap is getting wider.”
— the New York Times
"Suicide is a threat not just to the young. Rates over all rose 7 percent in metropolitan counties from 2004 to 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In rural counties, the increase was 20 percent."
4 Comments
They have more guns in rural america per person, we all should know this and not be surprised that suicide rates are higher.
taller buildings to jump from in urban areas.
in small towns, you can't hide. everyone know everyone, everyone gossips, there is no anonymity. in a city you can be surrounded by 100,000 people, crammed shoulder to shoulder in an elevator, and noone will notice.
if something happens and you feel trapped, like cases of bullying or abuse, it's harder to get out of it in a small town. they typically don't have the resources to turn to; there isn't anywhere to hide. if you need help, the only person you might be able to turn to is your preacher, who probably grew up with your parents.
Maybe there's higher levels of lithium in the tap water in large cities.
Using data for 27 Texas counties from 1978-1987, it is shown that the incidence rates of suicide, homicide, and rape are significantly higher in counties whose drinking water supplies contain little or no lithium than in counties with water lithium levels ranging from 70-170 micrograms/L... - source
wow. they're kind of suggesting we add drugs to water to keep people passive or placated?
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