An Overview of Suicide Research in China

Abstract

Chinese suicide research did not start until the end of 1970s, when China opened its door to the West through reforming its economy. Although limited Chinese suicide research conducted overseas is published and known to the West, studies conducted by Chinese researchers and published in Chinese language, which may be of more significance, are rarely known or cited in the West. Further, researchers in China with direct observation of the suicidal environment may understand the suicide differently than scholars overseas with second hand information, and therefore derive different explanations of Chinese suicide. This current study overviews suicide research conducted in China and published in Chinese during the past two decades and compares the findings with what has been reported in Western publications. Six research books and 429 journal articles are reviewed. As units of analyses, all journal articles are quantified with 151 variables analyzed. Results support findings of previous studies in terms of the suicide rates by gender, age, and rural/urban location. A unique phenomenon in Chinese suicide noticed in the study is that married Chinese are at higher risk of suicide than the non-married. Hypotheses for future research are suggested based on the articles reviewed.

Figure 1

Chinese Suicide Rates (Averaged for 1987–1994) by Gender, Location, and Age

Figure 2

Number of Academic Papers Published Each Year between 1982 and 1998

Figure 3

Months of Suicide