Affective socioeconomic factors on suicide in Turkey: A time series analysis

According to World Health Organization data, suicide is among the top ten causes of death in developed countries. International statistics reveal that, althougt it varies from country to country, he rate of suicide has an increasing tendency in the world. Regrettably, statistics affirm that there has been an increase over time in the number of suicides in Turkey. Yet, compared with other countries in terms of crude suicide rate, Turkey can be placed among the countries with lower rates. Although it is generally admitted that cultures, religious beliefs, traditions, welfare levels and social structures of countries may influence suicidal tendencies, in order to find urgent and effective solutions, it is vital to determine the factors leading to suicide and to approach it as a public-health problem considering the worldwide increase in suicide cases and its epidemiological structure. The aim of this study was to investigate the existence of relationship between suicides and various socio-economic factors in Turkey. By doing so, it aims at filling to a certain extent the existing gap related to both methodological and empirical evaluation of suicide cases in Turkey. In this respect, the effects of per capita income, unemployment, divorce, alcohol consumption, labor force participation, inflation and urbanization on suicide have been analyzed by using time series analysis methods.