Gender Differences in Athletic Performance and their Implications in Gender Ratios of Suicide: A Comparison between the USA and China

Abstract

This article attempts to understand the unique gender ratio in Chinese suicide from a physiological perspective. While Chinese women have been performing notably better than Chinese men in international sport competitions, it is suggested that sport achievements and suicide risks are both related to masculinity and aggression. To test the hypothesis that the gender difference in Chinese sports records is smaller than that found in U.S. sports records, both Chinese and U.S. national athletic records were analyzed for field, track, and swimming events. With the hypothesis supported by the data, the findings suggest a new explanation for the high suicide rate by Chinese women and low suicide rate by Chinese men. Future research is needed on physical, psychological, and biological factors that may be associated with gender differences in Chinese suicides.