Recession Takes Its Emotional Toll on Cities

(page 2 of 2)

Murky Causes

Matt Wray, an assistant professor of sociology at Temple University who is studying the high rates of suicide in Las Vegas and in other parts of the Intermountain West, said it is still unclear why suicide rates are higher in certain locations.

Just like there is a suicide belt, there is also a homicide belt (Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Baltimore) and a stroke belt (Southeastern U.S., including South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi).

Wray said it is unlikely that gambling is causing the high suicide rates in Las Vegas because Atlantic City, N.J., another gambling center, has a low rate of suicide. But it is impossible to know for sure because people who commit suicide don't always leave notes, and even if they do, they might be too embarrassed to discuss gambling losses in those letters, Wray said.

Wray believes that the rural nature of states such as Nevada, Montana, New Mexico, Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, and Arizona could play a part in the suicide rates. More densely populated places, where residents are closer to friends, family, and social services, tend to have lower rates. Other factors that act as protective forces are marriage, religion, and having a large network of extended family, he said.

The Writing on the Wall

The economy is likely to worsen the problem, but it is hard to say for sure. The last time there was a big increase in suicides was during the Great Depression. The shorter and less severe recessions in the 1980s and early 1990s didn't result in a significantly larger number of suicide cases, he said.

"It is going to be tragic if the current economic decline results in spikes in suicide rates," Wray said. "But for someone who has been studying these trends, I don't see how it's not going to result in that."

Richard McKeon, lead public health advisor on suicide prevention for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), said the federal government is acting now because it will be too late once the latest suicide data is collected, released, and studied. SAMHSA, which funds the national suicide lifeline, says its publicity efforts have helped boost the number of calls answered by the telephone lifeline by 25% in January compared with the previous January (although economic troubles likely contributed to that rise).

Preventive Measures

David Litts, director of science and policy for the Suicide Prevention Resource Center in Newton, Mass., said preventing job losses and decreasing foreclosures is one of the best ways to prevent suicides.

The idea is to reduce the strain, Litts said. Reducing those losses will reduce feelings of hopelessness.

Storm, who runs the Oregon crisis lines, said Americans should do more to help by volunteering at suicide helplines and taking care of friends and family when they ask for help.

"The man who is threatening to hang himself says his wealthy mother isn't returning his calls," she said.

"Life is hard," Storm said. "Why not be kind?"

Click here to see America's Unhappiest Cities.

Gopal writes about real estate for BusinessWeek in New York.