# Biggest drop in suicide rate in 40 years - 6% in 2020 amid pandemic **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [April 15, 2021, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084 "2021-04-15T14:48:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/41 "2021-04-16T10:50:55Z")
Hell is other people. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/42 "2021-04-16T17:34:48Z")
See here how access to guns not only makes suicide by gun more likely, but suicide more likely, period: [Bloomberg - Are you a robot?](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-29/researchers-link-u-s-gun-ownership-and-youth-suicide#:~:text=In%202016%2C%20nearly%2060%20percent,youth%20suicides%20involved%20a%20firearm). ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/43 "2021-04-16T17:41:39Z")
No, I understand and believe that. I’m sure it was partially responsible for the increase of suicides noted in my earlier link. Any theory about why there was a drop in American suicides should account for a lack of serious decline in other countries during the pandemic. The two obvious factors, istm, that make America different in this area are gun ownership and high overdose numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/44 "2021-04-16T17:55:06Z")
> [@FigNorton](#): > > The two obvious factors, istm, that make America different in this area are gun ownership and high overdose numbers. Even more obvious to me are the lack in the US of safety nets softening the effects of eviction and unemployment. Last year both of those nets were beefed up in the US closer to levels already in place in much of the developed world. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/45 "2021-04-16T18:58:22Z")
More obvious than orders of magnitude bigger gun ownership and overdose deaths? You’re entitled to your opinion, of course. Do you have any measures on just how much the effects of unemployment and evictions were softened? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/46 "2021-04-16T20:03:33Z")
> [@FigNorton](#): > > Do you have any measures on just how much the effects of unemployment and evictions were softened? [Total unemployment benefits paid U.S. 2023 | Statista](https://www.statista.com/statistics/284857/total-unemployment-benefits-paid-in-the-us/#:~:text=Total%20unemployment%20benefits%20paid%20in%20the%20U.S.%202020%2D2021&text=In%20January%202021%2C%205.75%20billion,were%20paid%20in%20unemployment%20benefits). All of the federal, state, and, municipal eviction moratoriums enacted in 2020 are too numerous to number. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/47 "2021-04-16T23:03:10Z")
I meant how many people were kept from going homeless or below the poverty line due to those laws compared to 2019. But don’t worry about it if the conversation is annoying you. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/48 "2021-04-16T23:35:07Z")
> **[The CDC banned evictions. Tens of thousands have still occurred](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/05/why-home-evictions-are-still-happening-despite-cdc-ban.html)** > > As the country was headed into an unprecedented housing crisis, the CDC banned most evictions. Many renters are still being forced to leave their homes. > [@](#): > > But the moratorium is failing to keep many families in their homes during the crisis, according to eviction records, housing advocates and legal aid attorneys. Tens of thousands of people have been evicted since September because the CDC’s policy has been applied inconsistently across states and some landlords have ignored or challenged their tenants’ attempts at using the protection, experts say. > > “We’re still seeing mass evictions, even with the CDC order,” said Daniel Rose, an organizer with [Housing Justice Now](https://www.facebook.com/HousingJusticeNowWS/) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Just posting that in case you thought the eviction moratorium actually stopped any evictions from happening at all in America last year. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/49 "2021-04-17T00:03:24Z")
> [@FigNorton](#): > > Just posting that in case you thought the eviction moratorium actually stopped any evictions from happening at all in America last year. The eviction moratorium covers 20 million households in the US. Your article is talking about tens of thousands falling through the cracks. > **[Eviction moratorium extended to June 30, covering 20 million U.S. households](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eviction-moratorium-extended-june-30-cdc/)** > > The moratorium on evictions was set to expire on March 31, which could have posed a threat to millions of renters. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/50 "2021-04-17T00:10:56Z")
There was about 870k evictions in 2015 - that’s about 72k/month. If there were tens of thousands of evictions between Sept and Dec, that’s still a significant number. “covers 20M households” doesn’t really tell much of a story. > **[National Estimates: Eviction in America](https://evictionlab.org/national-estimates/)** > > What Eviction Lab data reveals about the national prevalence of evictions. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/51 "2021-04-17T00:30:04Z")
> [@FigNorton](#): > > There was about 870k evictions in 2015 - that’s about 72k/month. If there were tens of thousands of evictions between Sept and Dec, that’s still a significant number. How many of them committed suicide because of homelessness? ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/52 "2021-04-17T00:32:27Z")
You tell me. I’m not the one arguing that the eviction moratorium caused the drop in suicides. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/53 "2021-04-17T00:41:26Z")
> [@FigNorton](#): > > You tell me. I’m not the one arguing that the eviction moratorium caused the drop in suicides… Neither am I. But you’re the one casting doubt on someone else’s assertion that the eviction moratorium might have contributed to the drop in suicides. What evidence do you have to show that it didn’t? ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/54 "2021-04-17T00:47:25Z")
Is that how it works? They don’t have to back up their assertion? This isn’t GD, so Fudd isn’t under an obligation to back up his hunch. But if he isn’t then I am most certainly not obligated to chase down the relationship between eviction and suicide plus dig up how many fewer evictions actually happened in 2020 compared to 2019 to prove him wrong. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/55 "2021-04-17T00:58:50Z")
I’ll add, I wouldn’t be surprised if the suicide rate really went down\*, I am only skeptical of this very significant drop happening at the same time overdoses skyrocket and peer countries did not see similar drops. - it dropped 2% the year before, I think? That was considered meaningful. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/56 "2021-04-19T06:11:38Z")
> [@snoe](#): > > Bringing it back to COVID — I think a lot of times, places, and methods may have been forestalled. People in shared housing had less time to themselves. A lot of tall buildings were closed to the public. Some gun stores closed. And so on. Perhaps this helped reduce the rate of suicide as well? Yes, that’s one of the reasons I’ve see proposed in the UK. What people were saying was that the trains weren’t running, so people couldn’t jump under them, and you couldn’t enter tall buildings, so you couldn’t throw yourself off them. Both of those methods are more difficult, but actually the commonest methods of suicide in the UK are hanging and poisoning (ie overdoses). Those can be done at home. But I’ve known people who’ve committed suicide that way, and they did it when their loved ones were out of the house. Not everyone lives with other people, of course, but lots of people do. Hanging is by far the most “popular” method. Even the ones in the woods are more difficult during lockdown because everyone and their school-age child has been going for walks due to lack of anything else to do. But I think it’s partly that, if you were already suicidal before the pandemic, that would mean you were miserable, and thought the world is shit, and/or you felt isolated from the world… the pandemic didn’t, necessarily, make that feeling any worse. If anything, it made you feel normal. Now is probably the time to watch out for potential suicides. Suicides always increase in the spring; this year could be bad. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/57 "2021-04-19T12:31:57Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > See here how access to guns not only makes suicide by gun more likely, but suicide more likely, period: > > [Researchers Link U.S. Gun Ownership and Youth Suicide - Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-29/researchers-link-u-s-gun-ownership-and-youth-suicide#:~:text=In%202016%2C%20nearly%2060%20percent,youth%20suicides%20involved%20a%20firearm). Yet we have a 6% drop in suicides coupled with an increase in first time gun owners. In a lot of surges in gun sales you have the guy with a dozen firearms getting that thirteenth he’s always had his eye on. If that guy buys another weapon I doubt that that would increase his suicide chances significantly, he’s already got the tools, but a first time gun owners suicide chances normally go up at least some. But in 2020 because of the corona virus and civil unrest there were [five million first time gun buyers](https://newschannel9.com/news/local/tectonic-shift-as-first-time-gun-buyers-grow-to-nearly-5-million). The article notes that 58% of these were African American men and women. So here’s a piece of contradictory information; a surge in first time gun owners and a drop in suicide rates. Maybe absent the surge suicide rates would have declined by 8% or 10%. Anyway, a piece of confounding information. I think the drop may be because everyone else was miserable. It’s hard to be sad when everyone else is happy, that’s why suicides go up around Christmas. Just knowing that life sucks for everyone else as well gives people a “We’re all in this shithole together” vibe. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/58 "2021-04-19T12:58:44Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > The article notes that 58% of these were African American men and women. And, in fact, the suicide rate may not have gone down for PoC. Cite: > **[U.S. Suicides Declined Over All in 2020 but May Have Risen Among People of...](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/15/health/coronavirus-suicide-cdc.html)** > > Despite dire predictions, the number of suicides fell by 5 percent over all. Still, smaller studies suggested the trends were much worse among nonwhite Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/59 "2021-04-19T18:29:49Z")
I have to say I find this rather confusing, because Switzerland doesn’t match. [Link](https://livingin.swiss/2021/04/12/znuni-news-monday-april-12/?fbclid=IwAR2MlZMnFHQC21iWTIFbjCNk0nswYLV9JTqIMOZ_MkIxHtbQCwXt7KcjWCs). > Last year, the number of suicides rose, many believing that the lockdown was a direct contributing factor to this. Worryingly teenagers and young adults represented the highest rise in suicides, leading the government to put in place a think-tank to see how they can help this segment of the population deal with any further measures. > **[Covid crisis heightening factors that can lead to youth suicide](https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/covid-crisis-heightening-factors-that-can-lead-to-youth-suicide/46522460)** > > The pandemic has exacerbated feelings of loneliness, sadness and anxiety among children, says a leading Swiss psychologist. ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2021, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/60 "2021-04-19T18:58:53Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > I have to say I find this rather confusing, because Switzerland doesn’t match. This information must be wrong because I’ve been assured by numerous Dopers that the pandemic wouldn’t cause a national mental health crisis. Everybody knows that people are capable of staying home for the health and safety of themselves and their families without any effects on their mental status. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084.md?page=2)