Cultural Patterns of Suicide in the United States: The Role of Honor Culture

New Insights on Cultural Patterns of Suicide in the United States: The Role of Honor Culture. By Marisa Crowder & Markus Kemmelmeier
Cross-Cultural Research, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1069397117712192

Abstract: Cultural differences in suicide can be indicative of varying social pressures placed on individuals. High suicide rates in U.S. honor cultures have been proposed to reflect pressures associated with maintaining one’s reputation. We extend this argument by highlighting that honor concerns differentially impact individuals based on gender, ethnicity, and age. Controlling for relevant confounds, we show that suicide rates were highest among older European American men from honor cultures, presumably because aging may render these men less capable of conforming to cultural ideals of masculinity. We discuss the need for process-focused and subgroup analyses when examining the effects of culture on suicide.