White Americans Drink and Commit Suicide More Often Than Any Other Race. Why? - General

White men, in particular, commit suicide more than twice as often per 100,000 people and drink more than other races in the United States, despite being the most wealthy racial group. There are a couple of reasons that I can think of. White men are pressured to be perceived as "successful," which is often measured in finances, creating a stressful culture, similar to that in Japan, a country with a very high suicide rate. Another is that White Americans tend to be more educated; more educated individuals tend to be less religious. White Americans are generally less religious than other racial groups. Religion, whether it's rational or not, does have positive correlations with things that indicate a happy and mentally healthy individual. As an agnostic, it sucks for me to hear that. (The rates that I found before didn't show Native Americans) The source for the suicide rates: [url]http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/suicide-in-the-us-statistics-and-prevention/index.shtml/index.shtml[/url] And my college textbook is where I found information on drinking. It doesn't say the particular numbers, it just state that white individuals, individuals with an education, non-religious individuals, liberals and individuals not from the south tended to drink more than other groups.

Sources on the stats? Can't really debate on them when we don't have the full picture.

The less people have the the more they value their bare life. They can more easily enjoy simple things. It has also been mentioned poor people are often more sociable, more capable of empathy, etc, when from poor background.

Because America has such a big population. Also, believe it or not, but people actually feel better in poor countries because they accept simple values in life and just are being happy to have a job and family. Considering America is a capitalistic society, getting your economy ruined (in which happened with a lot of people during the financial crisises which has happened over the history of the country) can really ruin your life in that country, mostly due to the strong propaganda telling people money is happiness and about the "American dream" and so on.

[QUOTE=DrasarSalman;36488012]Because America has such a big population.[/QUOTE] Per capita.

[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide#Epidemiology]actually no russians seem to kill themselves the most, probably because russia sucks[/url]

Probably because they are the majority of the countries' population :downs:

[QUOTE=Pelvic Thrust;36493874]Probably because they are the majority of the countries' population :downs:[/QUOTE] It's per 100,000 people. :downs:

Because if you live on hopes and dreams all of your life it makes it a lot more painful when they're crushed in front of you.

Because in America they're more likely to have high stress jobs probably.

I think that White Americans commit suicide more because of (Depending on where you live) the not so good living conditions and all the stress that comes with that.

Since there were no sources provided, I looked and found some things on the NIMH website and found statistics that backed up what the OP claimed. Are Some Ethnic Groups or Races at Higher Risk? Of every 100,000 people in each of the following ethnic/racial groups below, the following number died by suicide in 2007.1 Highest rates: American Indian and Alaska Natives — 14.3 per 100,000 Non-Hispanic Whites — 13.5 per 100,000 Lowest rates: Hispanics — 6.0 per 100,000 Non-Hispanic Blacks — 5.1 per 100,000 Asian and Pacific Islanders — 6.2 per 100,000 [url]http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/suicide-in-the-us-statistics-and-prevention/index.shtml/index.shtml[/url] I find it odd that Native Americans actually have a higher rate, and I'd like to know why. But they are a very small percentage of the population, so it looks like Whites are the runner up.

There's a smaller number, so there's a higher chance of finding a suicide case. With a larger amount of people, the chances of finding a suicide case get smaller.

[QUOTE=King Tiger;36517276] I find it odd that Native Americans actually have a higher rate, and I'd like to know why. [/QUOTE] If the situation of Aboriginal peoples in America is anything like it is in Canada, they would kill themselves because they live on reserves that are like 3rd world countries or in inner city ghettos and have no way out because of negative stereotypes.

I can't say that the question can easily be answered because of the wide variety of factors that are likely to be at play. I could imagine culture, genetics, childhood experience, social ability, access to care, and various mental disorders affect the likely hood of suicide, but I can't imagine that there would be an accurate methodology for determining the potential affect of all the different factors that play into suicidal motivation. [editline]27th June 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=King Tiger;36517276]I find it odd that Native Americans actually have a higher rate, and I'd like to know why. But they are a very small percentage of the population, so it looks like Whites are the runner up.[/QUOTE] Native Americans also tend to be much more susceptible to drug abuse. For example, [url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26439767/ns/health-addictions/t/native-american-deaths-alcohol-related/#.T-uwKMXyB8E]one out of ten Native American deaths are related to alcohol[/url]. [url=http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/abuse/a/blcah030917.htm]Negative childhood experiences[/url] seem to be a factor, but where it gets complicated is the extent to which genetics and culture affect the quality of parenting, and also how genetics affect the disposition towards particular stimuli. Like I said in a previous post, I think we can certainly identify factors, but it starts getting pretty muddy when starting to figure out affect and factors are likely interrelated. The issue of genetics gets even more confusing when considering epigentical phenomenon.

[QUOTE=Pepin;36526769]I can't say that the question can easily be answered because of the wide variety of factors that are likely to be at play. I could imagine culture, genetics, childhood experience, social ability, access to care, and various mental disorders affect the likely hood of suicide, but I can't imagine that there would be an accurate methodology for determining the potential affect of all the different factors that play into suicidal motivation. [editline]27th June 2012[/editline] Native Americans also tend to be much more susceptible to drug abuse. For example, [url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26439767/ns/health-addictions/t/native-american-deaths-alcohol-related/#.T-uwKMXyB8E]one out of ten Native American deaths are related to alcohol[/url]. [url=http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/abuse/a/blcah030917.htm]Negative childhood experiences[/url] seem to be a factor, but where it gets complicated is the extent to which genetics and culture affect the quality of parenting, and also how genetics affect the disposition towards particular stimuli. Like I said in a previous post, I think we can certainly identify factors, but it starts getting pretty muddy when starting to figure out affect and factors are likely interrelated. The issue of genetics gets even more confusing when considering epigentical phenomenon.[/QUOTE] native americans have a genetic predisposition toward lower alcohol retention rates, meaning that they can only handle a limited amount of alcohol before their blood alcohol levels are satiated, thus causing alcohol-related death sooner due to american drink sizes

Can you provide a source to back that up? It isn't that I doubt that, but more that I like to be sure of information. Evolutionarily it would likely make sense as Europeans tended to drink a ton, often out of sanitation needs, and it would make sense that those who have a positive genetic disposition towards alcoholic retention would be naturally selected. It then seems a bit probable that genetic factors play a decent factor in the abuse side of the equation as well.

[QUOTE=King Tiger;36517276]Since there were no sources provided, I looked and found some things on the NIMH website and found statistics that backed up what the OP claimed. Are Some Ethnic Groups or Races at Higher Risk? Of every 100,000 people in each of the following ethnic/racial groups below, the following number died by suicide in 2007.1 Highest rates: American Indian and Alaska Natives — 14.3 per 100,000 Non-Hispanic Whites — 13.5 per 100,000 Lowest rates: Hispanics — 6.0 per 100,000 Non-Hispanic Blacks — 5.1 per 100,000 Asian and Pacific Islanders — 6.2 per 100,000 [url]http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/suicide-in-the-us-statistics-and-prevention/index.shtml/index.shtml[/url] I find it odd that Native Americans actually have a higher rate, and I'd like to know why. But they are a very small percentage of the population, so it looks like Whites are the runner up.[/QUOTE] I edited the OP not knowing that you used the same source. I had a source a while ago when I opened this debate on a psychology forum.

Also, one thing that may be responsible for some of it is privacy. I've spent months at a time living with my wife's family in a small apartment in the barrio and it is nearly impossible to do anything in privacy. Not just from the people who are living there, but the neighbors can pretty much hear everything that you're doing and you can hear everything that they're doing. And between spending time there and visiting my big sister when she lived in north Minneapolis (the ghetto part), I've found that in both places, the neighbors seem to interact with you and other neighbors very often. If there's something wrong going on, the nice neighbors will even try to help you out if they see a way to. If they don't, they might affectionately make fun of you. Whenever someone did something in my big sister's neighborhood when she lived in the ghetto, everyone in the neighborhood talked about as if they were nicer versions of high school students, and the same can be said about my wife's neighborhood. When I first got married, one of my wife's neighbor's, Gilanda, already knew that I didn't want kids a day after my wife told her mom that we weren't having kids. She then kept teasing me by saying things like "You're going to have a bunch of kids, they all do." and I would said "Nooooope! Nope! Nope! Nope!" and she would laugh and say "That's what they all say." Also, I'm terrible at learning names, but from spending months there, I somehow ended knowing the names of half of her neighbors. Any time that I drive past her apartment when I visit California and she's outside, I yell "Nope!" out the window. People in both neighborhoods would also affectionately make fun of me for being a white guy from the suburbs. An anecdote that I have in support of people in a condensed neighborhood going out of their way to stop something bad from happening is a story that my mom told me about my grandmother. My grandma lived in north Minneapolis when she was younger. One day, a child rapist/molester grabbed her when she fell asleep on the couch with the door to outside was left open. The guy tried to run off with her and one of her neighbors shot at him and he dropped her and ran off. I've also noticed that while you aren't a social stigma for being a drug dealer in condensed neighborhoods, but you are if you steal shit from other people. They also will fun of you for being lazy and useless to society if you have that lifestyle, and everyone will generally figure it out, so it seems like things surface very easily even when you try your best to hide it. The main bullet point is that if you live in a condensed neighborhood, everyone knows what you are doing and suicide often requires privacy. But it might also be a sense of community that generally makes you feel more comfortable in some ways, despite crime rates and violence amongst people as the neighborhoods get rougher and rougher and the fact that walking around at night can be scary, even you're a lumberjack looking guy like me. But most people will generally leave you alone depending on where you are. Although none of this would explain why Asians don't commit suicide as much as Whites.

Actually, plenty of other countries have higher suicide rates than this. Japan's, for example, is something like 33.5 per 100,000 males - given Japan is 98.5% Japanese (ethnically), this would make Japanese men much more suicidal than white Yank men.

[QUOTE=BoysLightUp;36588401]Actually, plenty of other countries have higher suicide rates than this. Japan's, for example, is something like 33.5 per 100,000 males - given Japan is 98.5% Japanese (ethnically), this would make Japanese men much more suicidal than white Yank men.[/QUOTE] I'm talking about within the United States. However, Japan may suggest social pressures because social pressures have the weight of a neutron star in Japan.

[QUOTE=BoysLightUp;36588401]Actually, plenty of other countries have higher suicide rates than this. Japan's, for example, is something like 33.5 per 100,000 males - given Japan is 98.5% Japanese (ethnically), this would make Japanese men much more suicidal than white Yank men.[/QUOTE] the japanese have very specific reasons to be like this. for one, japan has very strong gender roles. basically, if you're the man of the house, and you aren't earning, you're worthless. now, this used to be alright in japan, because getting a job there used to be easy. but a recession in the mid-90s changed all that - suddenly, the job market became far more competitive. as a result, men started to work insanely hard to keep their jobs, out of fear for both social rejection and financial trouble. this resulted in mass burnout among japanese men, leading to depression, and eventually suicide. graph says it all: [img]http://peltiertech.com/WordPress/wp-content/img200807/Japan04.png[/img] so no, the japanese suicide rate isn't a ethnic thing, its entirely cultural.

The alcohol thing is almost certainly genetic. Overall European nations will probably have amuch higher alc per capita consumption than other ethnics, while having similar, if not less alcohol related problems in their societies as non euro nations. It would make sense for white Europeans to be the same in that regard.

The White Man's Burden, it is a terrible thing indeed.

I just heard an interesting reason last night while watching The Human Experience. "Many young people do not have a meaning and purpose to their life. They're looking to say, does my life matter? Do I have a unique contribution to make... when you recognize that you have a real mission, an indispensable contribution to make, then you embrace life, you celebrate life in a completely different way. " They then went on to talk about high suicide rates in developed countries among whites. It all comes down to having a purpose I suppose. I know I feel useless when I don't have anything to do for a long period of time. I just sit on the computer and eat and watch the world go bye. Where this hopelessness comes from, it's different for every person but it leads to the same thing, depression. And sometimes depression is so bad that people lose all their hope. They don't see what's significant in their lives. So you could say whites usually have it better off. They have things handed to them sometimes statistically. When they have nothing to work for, what's their purpose?

[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;36487800]The less people have the the more they value their bare life. They can more easily enjoy simple things. It has also been mentioned poor people are often more sociable, more capable of empathy, etc, when from poor background.[/QUOTE] This is my answer as well. I think the philosopher Nietzche touched on a topic similar to this but his speculation was a bit more nihilistic. I just found it: [URL="http://www.osho.com/online-library-illusions-nietzsche-suicide-102f6dd9-8a3.aspx"]http://www.osho.com/online-library-illusions-nietzsche-suicide-102f6dd9-8a3.aspx[/URL] Whether you agree with it or not is up to you, but either way its an interesting idea to think about.

I could've sworn that there were some stats floating around somewhere that showed that states with more atheists were generally happier, had better standard of livings, and were more likely to give aid to a stranger? Honestly, atheism has given my own life more meaning than Christianity had ever done for me in the past and it has made me a much happier (and more intelligent) individual.

[QUOTE=JJ Isaac;36619400]I could've sworn that there were some stats floating around somewhere that showed that states with more atheists were generally happier, had better standard of livings, and were more likely to give aid to a stranger? Honestly, atheism has given my own life more meaning than Christianity had ever done for me in the past and it has made me a much happier (and more intelligent) individual.[/QUOTE] Secular beliefs usually correlate with signs of a more advanced civilization; where people are atheists, people also tend to be higher income and more educated. For some reason, however, it appears that something about a typical white person's lifestyle causes depression/stress/unhappiness. Although, one thing I recently thought of is the fact that so many times children are diagnosed as ADD/ADHD pretty much for acting like a kid. It's impossible to tell if someone has ADD/ADHD until their mid-teens, but children [I]still[/I] are diagnosed ADD/ADHD. So pretty much, in higher income families, a lot of kids are being put on adderall and ritalin, which are amphetamines that pretty much have the same effects as doing a line of coke. I read in my Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco textbook that using adderall can cause mild anxiety disorders, hypertension and depression. In other words, part of the problem might be people jumping to rare conclusions because they are easier than raising their children.

[QUOTE=Lord_Ragnarok;36621288]Secular beliefs usually correlate with signs of a more advanced civilization; where people are atheists, people also tend to be higher income and more educated. For some reason, however, it appears that something about a typical white person's lifestyle causes depression/stress/unhappiness. Although, one thing I recently thought of is the fact that so many times children are diagnosed as ADD/ADHD pretty much for acting like a kid. It's impossible to tell if someone has ADD/ADHD until their mid-teens, but children [I]still[/I] are diagnosed ADD/ADHD. So pretty much, in higher income families, a lot of kids are being put on adderall and ritalin, which are amphetamines that pretty much have the same effects as doing a line of coke. I read in my Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco textbook that using adderall can cause mild anxiety disorders, hypertension and depression. In other words, part of the problem might be people jumping to rare conclusions because they are easier than raising their children.[/QUOTE] I am prescribed to adderall IR, adderall XR, and vyvance. I can tell you that it is nothing like taking a line of coke. People tend to exaggerate the actual effects of them.

[QUOTE=JJ Isaac;36619400]I could've sworn that there were some stats floating around somewhere that showed that states with more atheists were generally happier, had better standard of livings, and were more likely to give aid to a stranger? Honestly, atheism has given my own life more meaning than Christianity had ever done for me in the past and it has made me a much happier (and more intelligent) individual.[/QUOTE] I once saw stats that said religion makes you happier and more likely to give to charity! Also, why are you posting this here? What does this have to do with suicide rates? Why do you feel the need to let everyone know how much you hate religion?