Intellect Linked To Risk Of Suicide In Young Men

ScienceDaily ^ | 2005-01-25 | NA

[beavus]

January 20, 2005 -- Intellectual capacity in early adulthood is strongly related to subsequent risk of suicide in men, finds a study in this week's BMJ.

Few previous studies have assessed the association of measures of intelligence with suicide, and results have often conflicted.

Researchers analysed the results of four intelligence tests, performed at conscription into military service, for 987,308 Swedish men. The men were monitored for up to 26 years and suicides were recorded.

Better performance on the tests was associated with a reduced risk of suicide. The strongest associations were with the logic test score, where the risk of suicide was three times higher in the lowest compared with the highest scorers.

The strength of the link and the large sample size suggest that this finding is unlikely to be due to chance, they add. One possible explanation could be that influences on brain development during childhood also increase an individual's susceptibility to mental illness and hence suicide. Alternatively, it may be due to an individual's ability to solve problems in times of crisis or maladjustment in childhood, they conclude.

[firefighter302]

Dullards?

Well stated.

[CauseEverything]

Doesn't Sweden have a pretty high suicide rate anyway? I wonder what similar studies would turn up in Japan.

[Billthedrill]

Us really smart fellers never turn suicidal. Homicidal, now that's the ticket.

[escapefromboston]

Maybe they kill themselves because everyone calls them stupid all the time.

[AdamSelene235]

International Violent Death Rate Table (Death rates are per 100,000)

Country	Year	Population	Total Death	Total Homicide	Firearm Homicide	Total Suicide	Firearm Suicide	% Households With Guns
Estonia	1994	1,499,257	70.76	28.21	8.07	40.95	3.13	n/a
Hungary	1994	10,245,677	39.01	3.53	0.23	35.38	0.88	n/a
Slovenia	1994	1,989,477	33.37	2.01	0.35	31.16	2.51	n/a
Finland1	1994	5,088,333	30.72	3.24	0.86	27.26	5.78	23.2
Brazil	1993	160,737,000	25.34	19.04	10.58	3.46	0.73	n/a
Denmark	1993	5,189,378	23.46	1.21	0.23	22.13	2.25	n/a
Austria	1994	8,029,717	23.36	1.17	0.42	22.12	4.06	n/a
Switzerland2	1994	7,021,000	22.80	1.32	0.58	21.28	5.61	27.2
France	1994	57,915,450	22.67	1.12	0.44	20.79	5.14	22.6
Mexico	1994	90,011,259	21.74	17.58	9.88	2.89	0.91	n/a
Belgium	1990	9,967,387	20.77	1.41	0.60	19.04	2.56	16.6
Portugal	1994	5,138,600	18.95	2.98	1.28	14.83	1.28	n/a
United States3	1993	257,783,004	18.57	5.70	3.72	12.06	7.35	39.0
Japan	1994	124,069,000	17.34	0.62	0.02	16.72	0.04	n/a
Sweden	1993	8,718,571	17.12	1.30	0.18	15.75	2.09	15.1
Germany4	1994	81,338,093	17.00	1.17	0.22	15.64	1.17	8.9
Taiwan5	1996	21,979,444	15.00	8.12	0.97	6.88	0.12	n/a
Singapore	1994	2,930,200	15.77	1.71	0.07	14.06	0.17	n/a
Canada	1992	28,120,065	15.64	2.16	0.76	13.19	3.72	29.1
Mauritius	1993	1,062,810	15.42	2.35	0	12.98	0.09	n/a
Argentina	1994	34,179,000	15.25	4.51	2.11	6.71	3.05	n/a
Norway	1993	4,324,815	14.75	0.97	0.30	13.64	3.95	32.0
N. Ireland	1994	1,641,711	14.74	6.09	5.24	8.41	1.34	8.4
Australia	1994	17,838,401	14.65	1.86	0.44	12.65	2.35	19.4
New Zealand	1993	3,458,850	14.63	1.47	0.17	12.81	2.14	22.3
Scotland	1994	5,132,400	14.46	2.24	0.19	12.16	0.31	4.7
Hong Kong	1993	5,919,000	11.52	1.23	0.12	10.29	0.07	n/a
Netherlands	1994	15,382,830	11.25	1.11	0.36	10.10	0.31	1.9
South Korea	1994	44,453,179	11.17	1.62	0.04	9.48	0.02	n/a
Ireland	1991	3,525,719	10.68	0.62	0.03	9.81	0.94	n/a
Italy	1992	56,764,854	10.42	2.25	1.66	8.00	1.11	16.0
England/Wales6	1992	51,429,000	9.53	1.41	0.11	7.68	0.33	4.7
Israel	1993	5,261,700	9.80	2.32	0.72	7.05	1.84	n/a
Spain	1993	39,086,079	8.97	0.95	0.21	7.77	0.43	13.1
Greece	1994	10,426,289	4.61	1.14	0.59	3.40	0.84	n/a
Kuwait	1995	1,684,529	3.50	1.01	0.36	1.66	0.06	n/a
Country	Year	Population	Total Death	Total Homicide	Firearm Homicide	Total Suicide	Firearm Suicide	% Households With Guns

[beavus]

The kind of people of which you speak are usually very well liked by others. I suspect all else equal, that would reduce their risk of suicide.

[beavus]

Both would be correct, for the reason I gave. Brownouts are, afterall, a matter of electricity.

Again, those with higher suicide risk don't LACK intellect, they have lower intellect.

[beavus]

LOL!

[beavus]

So, what is the relevent difference between Kuwait and Estonia, anyway?

[bikepacker67]

Again, those with higher suicide risk don't LACK intellect, they have lower intellect.

Argghhhh! I could debate semantics with you all day long.

Take "LACK" for instance. It means to be short of

So those that are drinking the bitter-almond-scented koolaid, very much LACK intellect.

[N. Beaujon]

I think the "study" selected out the property of LOGIC within the intelligence quotient as the predictive factor (or the significant variable.)
It said that people whose logical capabilities were lower were less likely to be able to manage crisis and, impliedly, navigate the vagaries of everyday life.

This makes some sense. Very creative people and highly intelligent people often are not very facile in their thinking. They can calculate a million integers but not remember where they put their car keys, they can create an incredible piece of art but be totally incapable of negotiating romantic relationships.
Not to sound like a liberal but intellect has some complex components. It isn't IQ that appears to be the predictor but the capacity to reason oneself out of emotionally overwhelming problems/situations.

How many great minds have been able to solve the problems of cancer, break the gnome code, cure diseases in their respective fields but have gone on to commit suicide because they, somehow, cannot find meaning in the simplest things in life? I'm not sure complex organisms survive well in evolution, adaptable ones do.

After all, it isn't the the dolphin that will inherit the earth, it will be the cockroach.

[bikepacker67]

After all, it isn't the the dolphin that will inherit the earth, it will be the cockroach.

Not if the environuts are right, and sea levels rise!

Maybe Douglas Adams was on to something...

“It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much -- the wheel, New York, wars and so on -- whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man -- for precisely the same reasons. ”

[Uncle Miltie]

"shouldn't the headline then read: Lack of Intellect Linked To Risk Of Suicide In Young Men

Yes. The author is buying a Saturday Night Special as we write.

[Malesherbes]

Dumb and happy, a satisfying combination.

[RebelTex]

"How many of your friends have commited suicide?"

I can't speak for AdamSelene235, but all my friends that committed suicide are about evenly split on intellect - about half were pretty stupid and the other half fairly bright.

The only thing they had in common was their friendship with me.

Hmmm - I wonder why I don't have any friends left.

(just kidding)

;^D

[N. Beaujon]

"shouldn't the headline then read: Lack of Intellect Linked To Risk Of Suicide In Young Men
Yes. The author is buying a Saturday Night Special as we write.

lol! (Sorry, sick sense of humor.)

[N. Beaujon]

“It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much -- the wheel, New York, wars and so on -- whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man -- for precisely the same reasons. ”

lol. bp67, can you please tell me how Mr. Douglas knows what these dolphins are thinking and can he arrange a dolphin to freep telechat? I have to talk to this dolphin! ;) (Personally, I'd like to settle the snail darter issue and maybe a little something on global warming?)