A time series analysis of international immigration and suicide mortality in Canada.

A neglected topic concerning suicide as a sociological phenomenon is the relationship between international immigration and suicide mortality. This study examines the association between these variables using time series data for the period 1950 to 1982 in Canada. The central hypothesis, derived from the Durkheimian theory of social integration and suicide, is that the higher the immigration rate, the higher the rate of suicide. Two statistical controls, the unemployment rate and age composition, drawn from the "economic anomie" and "social demographic" perspectives respectively were introduced into a multiple regression model involving immigration and suicide. While some of the results in the initial stages of the analysis appear to contradict the established literature concerning the relevance of immigration and unemployment in predicting suicide, more refined breakdowns which allow for the separate investigation of male and female suicide propensities, generally support the social integration and economic anomie theories. It is concluded that the 15-34 male cohort is highly sensitive to changes in their economic prospects and in their immigration experience and therefore, have higher suicide rates than women in the same age group.