The Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; Department of Social Work and Social Administration, Faculty of Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
J Affect Disord. 2024 Feb 1;346:31-39. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.10.100. Epub 2023 Oct 20.
Marriage has long been considered protective against suicide, but shifting social norms since 2000 in Hong Kong raise doubts regarding whether this is still the case. The aim of the study was to investigate the changing association between suicide and marital status.
Official suicide data for 2002-2020 in Hong Kong were obtained. Suicide rates and suicide risk ratios were calculated by gender, age group, and marital status (married, never-married, widowed, divorced/separated).
Suicide risk decreased significantly over time for men and women of all ages. People who were never-married, divorced/separated, had significantly higher suicide risks than their married counterparts. Increasing suicide risks over time were observed for never-married men aged 20-49 years, never-married women aged 35-49 years, and divorced/separated men aged 20-34 years. Widowed men and women of any age had higher suicide risks compared with previous studies in Hong Kong.
Marital status is a time-varying covariate, and the time spent in a given marital status could affect suicide risk. Some age and gender subgroups had much smaller sample sizes than others, thus it is possible that our suicide risk estimates were overestimated.
Despite rapidly social changing in Hong Kong during the study period, marriage remains a strong protective factor against suicide for men and women. The protective effect is particularly evident for younger people. Increasing suicide rates for divorced/separated, never-married, or widowed people suggest that they require more psychosocial support.
长期以来，婚姻一直被认为可以预防自杀，但自 2000 年以来，香港不断变化的社会规范让人怀疑这种情况是否仍然存在。本研究旨在调查自杀与婚姻状况之间关联的变化。
获取了香港 2002-2020 年的官方自杀数据。按性别、年龄组和婚姻状况（已婚、未婚、丧偶、离婚/分居）计算自杀率和自杀风险比。
男性和女性各年龄段的自杀风险随时间显著降低。未婚、离婚/分居的人自杀风险明显高于已婚者。20-49 岁未婚男性、35-49 岁未婚女性和 20-34 岁离婚/分居男性的自杀风险随时间增加。任何年龄段的丧偶男性和女性的自杀风险均高于香港以往研究。
婚姻状况是一个随时间变化的协变量，在特定婚姻状况下度过的时间可能会影响自杀风险。一些年龄和性别亚组的样本量比其他组小得多，因此我们的自杀风险估计值可能被高估。
尽管在研究期间香港的社会迅速变化，但婚姻仍然是男性和女性预防自杀的有力保护因素。这种保护作用在年轻人中尤为明显。离婚/分居、未婚或丧偶人群的自杀率上升表明他们需要更多的心理社会支持。
