Burnt Orange Report

Red State / Blue State Suicide Rates

By Byron LaMasters

I generally find these type of statistics stupid. Both Republicans and Democrats will both take various statistics to prove that Blue / Red America is more advanced, patriotic, American, etc. than the other. Having said that, I found these suicide statistics interesting from the Boston Globe over the weekend:

WHEN DEMOCRATS and Republicans decided where to hold their national conventions, they probably didn't know that Massachusetts and New York have the lowest suicide rates in the nation, about 6.5 per 100,000 people per year. The national average is 10.7, and states with the biggest problem are in the 19 to 20 range.

Suicide rates in the United States generally rise as you go south and west. Earlier this year, I got interested in the exceptions to that rule, so I decided to create a map. States with lower than average suicide rates I colored blue; the rest I colored red.

And there it was: an approximation of the year 2000 presidential election map.

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have lower than average suicide rates. All but one voted for Al Gore. Of the remaining 37 states, 29 voted for George W. Bush. The five states with the most lopsided Bush vote (Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Idaho, with a margin of 25 percent or more) were all among the top eight for suicide.

[...]

In a 2002 study, Dr. Jean McSween of the University of Virginia found that people who identify themselves as Republican and conservative are less likely to favor government spending for mental health. Her research also showed they are more likely to fear violence from the mentally ill and want to keep their distance from people with mental disorders. It's not surprising that the Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act has languished in the Republican-controlled Congress despite having numerous cosponsors.

I do think that there is a point here. Mental health should not be a political issue. It's a human issue that should be above politics. An arguement could be made from this research that more Democratic / liberal / blue states spend more on mental health and thus have less suicides and vice versa for Republican / conservative / red states. It's an interesting point, but there are surely many other factors at work here. Take it for what it's worth.