Suicide in the United States is now most common on Wednesdays, not Mondays, as had been the case for decades, researchers at the University of California, Riverside, have found.
The shift may be due to increased job insecurity and less pleasure on the job, said Augustine Kposowa, a professor of sociology at UC Riverside. Kposowa conducted the study with graduate student Stephanie D'Auria.
The study analyzed U.S. suicides from 2000 to 2004. Kposowa said he believes the trend has probably deepened in recent months, as the severe recession increases job loss and fear of layoffs.
"With less job security, there are more stresses," he said.
In the past, people typically worked for the same company for many years and did not worry as much about losing their job, he said. Fewer people today can take their jobs for granted, Kposowa said.
If work-related issues are increasingly a reason for suicide, it makes sense that more people would take their lives on a Wednesday than on a Thursday, which is the least likely day for someone to commit suicide, he said.
"There's a better feeling on Thursday because the weekend is coming, whereas Wednesday is right in the middle," he said. "Wednesday is the hump, and some people feel, `I've had it.' "
On Mondays, people are more likely to feel some glow of the happiness they may have enjoyed away from work during the weekend. The study found that nearly 25 percent of suicides were on Wednesdays, compared to a little more than 11 percent on Thursdays and Fridays.
Kposowa also found that highly educated people are more likely to commit suicide than people with less education. He surmises that work is more likely to be a factor in the decision of a highly educated, middle-class person's decision to commit suicide, because that person is more invested in a job.
http://www.dailybreeze.com/healthandfitness/ci_12839357
LOL
OK people, you still have time today.
The shift may be due to increased job insecurity and less pleasure on the job, said Augustine Kposowa, a professor of sociology at UC Riverside. Kposowa conducted the study with graduate student Stephanie D'Auria.
The study analyzed U.S. suicides from 2000 to 2004. Kposowa said he believes the trend has probably deepened in recent months, as the severe recession increases job loss and fear of layoffs.
"With less job security, there are more stresses," he said.
In the past, people typically worked for the same company for many years and did not worry as much about losing their job, he said. Fewer people today can take their jobs for granted, Kposowa said.
If work-related issues are increasingly a reason for suicide, it makes sense that more people would take their lives on a Wednesday than on a Thursday, which is the least likely day for someone to commit suicide, he said.
"There's a better feeling on Thursday because the weekend is coming, whereas Wednesday is right in the middle," he said. "Wednesday is the hump, and some people feel, `I've had it.' "
On Mondays, people are more likely to feel some glow of the happiness they may have enjoyed away from work during the weekend. The study found that nearly 25 percent of suicides were on Wednesdays, compared to a little more than 11 percent on Thursdays and Fridays.
Kposowa also found that highly educated people are more likely to commit suicide than people with less education. He surmises that work is more likely to be a factor in the decision of a highly educated, middle-class person's decision to commit suicide, because that person is more invested in a job.
http://www.dailybreeze.com/healthandfitness/ci_12839357
LOL
OK people, you still have time today.
