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A Further Investigation of Differences in the Suicide Rates of England and Wales and of Scotland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Olivia Ross  and
Norman Kreitman
Olivia Ross
Affiliation:
M.R.C. Unit for Epidemiological Studies in Psychiatry, University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside Park, Edinburgh, EH10 5HF
Norman Kreitman
Affiliation:
M.R.C. Unit for Epidemiological Studies in Psychiatry, University Department of Psychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside Park, Edinburgh, EH10 5HF
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Summary

National samples of case records of suicidal-type deaths from England and Wales and from Scotland were reassessed by officials in the other country. It emerged that similar criteria for suicide existed in both countries, and that there was no age-related tendency to misclassify cases. The lower official suicide rate amongst the old in Scotland was therefore considered not to result from ascertainment differences. It was also concluded that Scottish records were not so briefly documented as to prevent the conclusive ascertainment of cause by England and Wales coroners. Cases which were designated ‘undetermined’ in Scotland tended to be classified ‘accidental’ by coroners. Reasons for the lower incidence of suicide in Scotland are discussed.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 127 , Issue 6 , December 1975 , pp. 575 - 582
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1975 

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