• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.31-54
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• 2011

The main purposes of this study are to describe regional differentials of the rate and to explore factors impacting on the regional differentials among the elderly's suicide rate in the Republic of Korea. Suicide data among 16 provinces from 2000 to 2008 were used for the statistical analyses. Six independent variables, such as crude divorce rate, GRDP per capita, welfare budget proportion, number of leisure facilities, number of medical and housing welfare facilities, and number of sports facilities are introduced for the multiple regression analyses. Elderly suicide rate, female elderly's suicide rate, and male elderly's suicide rate are used for the dependent variables. The findings of this study are as follows: Elderly's suicide rate has been increased constantly since 2000 and regional differentials of the elderly's suicide have been existed over time. According to the multiple regressions analyses, number of sports facilities(${\beta}$=-521), welfare budget proportion, and number of leisure facilities(${\beta}$=-219) have shown statistically significant negative relationships with the elderly's suicide rate. On the other hand, number of medical facilities(${\beta}$=0.550), crude divorce rate(${\beta}$=0336) have shown statistically significant positive relationships with the elderly's suicide rate in the Republic of Korea. Finally, some policy implications for alleviating the elderly's suicide rate are introduced and discussed.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.44-51
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• 2007

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare suicide mortality by region in South Korea. Method: Suicide mortality differentials were calculated for several mortality indicators by geographical regions from raw data of the cause of death from KNSO. Results: The results are as follows; the Crude suicide death rate was 22.63 per 100,000. The highest was in Kangwon showing 37.84% whereas, Chungnam, and Jeonbuk followed after. Suicide was 4.4% of all causes of death, but Inchon and Ulsan showed a higher proportion. The male suicide death rate was 31.12 per 100,000 and females 14.09. The ratio of gender suicide mortality was 2.21, per 100,000 and was the highest in Jeju. For age-specific suicide death rates, the rate increased as age advanced, showing 2.33 per 100,000 in 0-19years, 18.68 in 20-39, 30.48 in 40-59, 63.33 in 60 years and over. In Ulsan, Kangwon, and Inchon, age-specific suicide death rates of the 60 and over age group were higher than other regions, Daegu, Busan, and Kangwon showed a higher age-specific suicide mortality of the 40-59 age group, and Kangwon, Jeonnam, and Chungnam had a higher age-specific suicide mortality of the 20-39 age group. Conclusions: Suicide mortality differed by region. These results can be used for a regional health care plan and planning for suicide prevention by regions.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.215-224
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• 2014

It is hardly surprising for the current elder generation to choose extreme measure, that is to commit suicide, because of various social or health problems caused by financial difficulties and diseases, for neither individuals nor the nation had not prepared for their later lives. Therefore, the number of elder suicide is rapidly increasing, so that it is becoming a big social issue. Research in various fields related to elderly suicide has been done due to recent huge interest, but most of them focused on microscopic factors and it is likely that most are in national level or individual level, so research about elderly suicide by regional areas is insufficient. Due to the nature of Korean administration system which is operated by each local government, study on elderly suicide by regional areas is acutely required. The purpose of this study is to draw policy suggestions of preventing suicide by analyzing current state of suicide rates in terms of sex(male elder vs female elder) and age(young old vs old old) in each 16 regions for 9years(from 2003 to 2011) and then analyzing interrelationships between the suicide rates and socio-economic factors.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.41-52
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• 2013

Objectives: Rural-urban differences in suicide have been observed in many settings. However, there has been little research addressing what factors can explain these differences. The purpose of this study was to analyze which compositional factors and contextual factors in local areas might be related to local suicide. Methods: The study design was cross-sectional. The data for 251 primary local governments on their age-standardized suicide mortality and their predefined indicators of compositional factors and contextual factors were obtained from Korean Statistical Information Service as of year 2010. Bivariate analysis including one-way ANOVA and chi-square test were used to identify the differences in local features by area type. Seven poisson regression models for each of total, males, and females were used to analyze which compositional and contextual factors were related to suicide. Results: There were differences in suicide between gu and goon in total, male, and female groups. For total, compositional factors including divorce and smoking rate, and contextual factors including financial independency, water and waterwaste coverage, and number of wastewater discharge factories were found to explain the urban-rural differences. Conclusions: This study provided some evidence that contextual factors at the local level as well as compositional factors are useful for predicting local suicide mortality.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.197-203
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• 1988

In order to examine cause-specific mortality in Korea by comparing mortality of Japan, various mortality indicators are calculated using 1995 of ficial statistics of twonations. The mortality measures are cause-specific mortality rate by sex, age, andmarital status, cause-specific age-standardized death rate and potential years of lifelost, and their ratios by sex and nation. Items of major causes of death include allcauses (total deaths),tuberculosis, malignant neoplasm, diabetes mellitushypertensive diseases, heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, liver diseasestransport accidents, and suicide. Major characteristics of mortality in Korea are asfollows . (1) Death rates from most causes except suicide are higher in Korea thanJapan and especially death rates from tuberculosis, hypertensive diseases, liverdiseases, and transport accidents are higher for economically active Koreans : (2)Death rates from tuberculosis, liver diseases, transport accidents, and malignantneoplasm are salient for Korean children (3) Sex-differentials in mortality fromliver diseases, tuberculosis , and transport accidents are large for economically activeKoreans, because male mortality is higher than female mortality : (4) Suicide ratesare lower for economically active males, and higher for females aged 10s and 20s inKorea than Japan : (5) Death rates are highest f3r divorced or widowed under 45years of age depending on causes, but death rates from all causes are highest fornever-married of the age 45 and over in Korea : and (6) Sex-differentials inmortality are greatest for widowed in Korea and for divorced in Japan.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.21-44
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• 2008

The main purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the family instability on the elderly suicide and to examine the change over time. An analytical model of causal structure was set up with residence, family instability and socioeconomic level as explanation variables for this study. The cause of death statistics and micro-data from the vital statistics for 1995, 2000 and 2005 were used. Family instability was measured through divorce, and the rate of elderly(male and female) suicide as well as the suicide rate of the elderly and those in their 20-50's was used for this analysis to examine the effect of divorce. This study hypothesized about family instability and elderly suicide through a literature review. This paper presents maps of the suicide rate by using GIS, and then ANOVA and regression analysis are carried out to verify a difference in the elderly suicide rate affected by residence and divorce. Divorce rate appears in most areas with a high level centering around metropolises except the central inland area. The rate of elderly suicide which stayed in only specific regions with a high level has increased as time went by, and the graph leveled high in most regions except the southwestern coast. In addition, the elderly suicide rate was increased rapidly in rural areas for the most recent 10 years. This shows the seriousness of problems of the aged in rural areas. Through the periods of economic crisis, a sudden increase in divorce causes family instability, which increase the suicide rate increasing. Divorce affects the elderly suicide rate and the 20-50s' suicide rate in the same way, and the stronger effect goes to the elderly rather than those in their 20-50s'. Regarding elderly suicide, the divorce has a different effect by gender, affecting males more than females. With these facts, we can draw the conclusion that family instability has the most significant effect on elderly males' suicide.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.203-233
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• 2004

Rapid process of industrialization and modernization in Korea has caused earning differentials between the rich and the poor, the feeling of alienation followed by excessive competitions among the members of community as well as the conflict between generations. Because of those factors, Koreans have come to undergo several mental problems such as anxiety, melancholy and suicide. However, scarce concern or effort has been given to solve those mental problems in the professional field of mental health. Social work service for mental health in Korea has been delivered on the basis of the Law of Mental Health, most of which are focused on treatment or care of mental patient himself or his family. Therefore ordinary people who have no mental disorder but have desire for mental health have no way to take service in the field of public mental health except for counselling programs given by some of the private social welfare institutions. In this context, the process of clarifying the concept of mental health is demanded before we develop the mental health program. As social welfare is the practical science that helps people seek after happiness and meaningful life, so clarifying the concept of mental health is needed not only for the field of mental health itself but also for every field of social welfare. In order to achieve this purpose, this study firstly arranged concepts of mental health in Korea using Q methodology. As the result, we found 21 dimensions including spiritual one and self-wellbeing one which newly identified in this study as well as 19 dimensions of Jahoda. We also found Koreans perceive concepts of mental health as independently as 5 types of Communalist, Rationalist, Individualist, Humanist, and Religionist. Secondly, on the basis of the result, we suggested that mental health programs in social welfare should be oriented to the positive concept of mental health. This study could furnish fundamental data that enable the concept of mental health to be spread to that of the growth for a better life not limiting on that of the prevention or the treatment of the mental disorder.