Unemployment, religious disintegration and suicide fluctuations in Alberta

This study looks at the relationship between unemployment, religious disintegration and suicide in Alberta during 1997–2015. Religious disintegration is operationalized as the percentage of population with no religious affiliation. Economic theory predicts suicides increase when unemployment rates a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Canadian review of sociology 2021-11, Vol.58 (4), p.476-491
Main Author: Trovato, Frank
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alberta
Economic conditions
Economic sociology
Economic theory
Forecasts and trends
History of medicine and histology
Multivariate analysis
Population growth
Provinces
Recessions
Religion
Religions
Religious identity
Sociological theory
Sociology
Suicide
Suicides & suicide attempts
Unemployment
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Summary:This study looks at the relationship between unemployment, religious disintegration and suicide in Alberta during 1997–2015. Religious disintegration is operationalized as the percentage of population with no religious affiliation. Economic theory predicts suicides increase when unemployment rates are high and decline when unemployment rates are low. Sociological theory calls for suicides to vary inversely with the degree of religious integration in society. Multivariate analysis supports both economic and sociological interpretations. In Alberta, periods of rising unemployment (recessions) produce more suicides, and increased levels of religious disintegration are positively associated with the incidence of voluntary deaths. RÉSUMÉ Cette étude examine la relation entre le chômage, la désintégration religieuse et le suicide en Alberta entre 1997 et 2015. La désintégration religieuse est opérationnalisée comme le pourcentage de la population sans affiliation religieuse. La théorie économique prévoit que les suicides augmentent lorsque le taux de chômage est élevé et diminuent lorsque le taux de chômage est faible. Selon la théorie sociologique, les suicides varient inversement au degré d'intégration religieuse dans la société. L'analyse multivariée appuie les interprétations économique et sociologique. En Alberta, les périodes de hausse du chômage (récessions) produisent plus de suicides, et les niveaux accrus de désintégration religieuse sont positivement associés à l'incidence des décès volontaires.
ISSN:1755-6171
1755-618X
DOI:10.1111/cars.12361