Global Gender Gap on Suicide: Why are Men More at Risk?

Abstract

The present study investigates the gender difference in suicidal behavior using principal component analysis (PCA). A huge database was retrieved globally for increased validity and effect. Additionally, regression relationship for estimating the suicidal rate of men, based on the selected factors from the PCA, was developed. The PCA showed three components of vital factors that explains 79.9% of the variation of all variables. The study used male and female suicide rate, HIV/AIDs prevalence, tertiary enrolment, democracy, professional psychiatrist, GDP per capita and unemployment indices across countries as of 2015. The evidence suggests that unemployment and spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are not the root cause of why men are more likely to commit suicide. It is also clear that national revenue and the reluctance of men to psychiatric intervention are the causes of the higher suicide rate. However, the study revealed that openness to psychiatric intervention would significantly affect the male to female suicide ratio. An increasing openness to psychiatric intervention would decrease the suicide rate of men.