Suicide and marital status in the United States, 1991-1996: is widowhood a risk factor?

Abstract

This study examined whether marital status is associated with suicide rates among various age, sex, and racial groups, in particular with widowhood among young adults of both sexes. US national suicide mortality data were compiled for the years 1991-1996, and suicide rates were broken down by race, 5-year age groups, sex, and marital status. Data on suicide rates indicated an approximately 17-fold increase among young widowed White men (aged 20-34 years), a 9-fold increase among young widowed African American men, and lesser increases among young widowed White women compared with their married counterparts. National data suggest that as many as 1 in 400 White and African American widowed men aged 20-35 years will die by suicide in any given year (compared with 1 in 9000 married men in the general population).