Mellowing with Age: Factors Influencing the Nonwhite Suicide Rate

Abstract

The age patterning of white and nonwhite suicide rates reveals a marked and consistent divergence: white suicide rates increase with age; however, nonwhite suicide rates peak in youthful years and decline during middle and older ages. Six explanatory hypotheses are proposed to account for the divergence: 1) differential life expectancy; 2) deviant burnout; 3) screening out of the violence-prone; 4) role and status of the elderly; 5) traditional values; and 6) age-specific motives. Discussion and analysis of the proposed hypotheses indicate that they do operate in the direction of reducing the suicide rates of elderly nonwhites, thereby contributing to the observed age discrepancy in white and nonwhite suicide rates.