Effect of the Irish Civil War 1922-1923 on suicide rates in Ireland: a retrospective investigation of the archives of the registrar-general for Saorstát Éireann

Introduction: Emile Durkheim differentiated between two types of wars: National and Civil Wars in terms of effect on suicide mortality. This study investigates Durkheim’s assertion by examining the effect of Irish Civil War on the 1882-1928 suicide rates trend. Method: We used Auto-Regressive Integ...

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Main Authors: Mugtaba Osman, Andrew C Parnell, MacDara McCauley
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Milano University Press 2018-09-01
Series:Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Public Health
Online Access:https://ebph.it/article/view/12920
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author Mugtaba Osman
Andrew C Parnell
MacDara McCauley
author_facet Mugtaba Osman
Andrew C Parnell
MacDara McCauley
author_sort Mugtaba Osman
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Emile Durkheim differentiated between two types of wars: National and Civil Wars in terms of effect on suicide mortality. This study investigates Durkheim’s assertion by examining the effect of Irish Civil War on the 1882-1928 suicide rates trend. Method: We used Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average with Explanatory variables (ARIMAX) design adopting Bayesian approach. Results: The odds for death by suicide for the total Irish population during the civil war period were calculated as 0.932 (95% CI: 0.753 to 1.125). This translates to a reduction in the suicide rates by 6.7% (95% CI: 24.7% to -12.5%). The odds for death by suicide for the total Irish population during the First World War period were calculated as 0.872 (95% CI: 0.754 to 0.997). This indicates to a reduction in the suicide rates by 12.8% (95% CI: 24.6% to 0.3%). Conclusion: Evidence from this study support a significant drop in terms of the intensity of suicidal behaviour in the Irish population during World War I more so than during the Irish Civil War. Conflict of interest: none Keywords: suicide, Ireland, Irish Civil war, World War 1, Durkheim’s theory
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series Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Public Health
spelling doaj-art-e31b49c582544d2c95c8aadc201f1f922025-08-20T03:10:03ZengMilano University PressEpidemiology, Biostatistics and Public Health2282-09302018-09-0115310.2427/1292011170Effect of the Irish Civil War 1922-1923 on suicide rates in Ireland: a retrospective investigation of the archives of the registrar-general for Saorstát ÉireannMugtaba Osman0Andrew C Parnell1MacDara McCauley2Armed Forces Centre for Psychiatric Care, Taif, Saudi ArabiaHamilton Institute, Maynooth University, IrelandConsultant Psychiatrist, Singleton House, Laurence St., Drogheda, Co. Louth, IrelandIntroduction: Emile Durkheim differentiated between two types of wars: National and Civil Wars in terms of effect on suicide mortality. This study investigates Durkheim’s assertion by examining the effect of Irish Civil War on the 1882-1928 suicide rates trend. Method: We used Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average with Explanatory variables (ARIMAX) design adopting Bayesian approach. Results: The odds for death by suicide for the total Irish population during the civil war period were calculated as 0.932 (95% CI: 0.753 to 1.125). This translates to a reduction in the suicide rates by 6.7% (95% CI: 24.7% to -12.5%). The odds for death by suicide for the total Irish population during the First World War period were calculated as 0.872 (95% CI: 0.754 to 0.997). This indicates to a reduction in the suicide rates by 12.8% (95% CI: 24.6% to 0.3%). Conclusion: Evidence from this study support a significant drop in terms of the intensity of suicidal behaviour in the Irish population during World War I more so than during the Irish Civil War. Conflict of interest: none Keywords: suicide, Ireland, Irish Civil war, World War 1, Durkheim’s theoryhttps://ebph.it/article/view/12920
spellingShingle Mugtaba Osman
Andrew C Parnell
MacDara McCauley
Effect of the Irish Civil War 1922-1923 on suicide rates in Ireland: a retrospective investigation of the archives of the registrar-general for Saorstát Éireann
Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Public Health
title Effect of the Irish Civil War 1922-1923 on suicide rates in Ireland: a retrospective investigation of the archives of the registrar-general for Saorstát Éireann
title_full Effect of the Irish Civil War 1922-1923 on suicide rates in Ireland: a retrospective investigation of the archives of the registrar-general for Saorstát Éireann
title_fullStr Effect of the Irish Civil War 1922-1923 on suicide rates in Ireland: a retrospective investigation of the archives of the registrar-general for Saorstát Éireann
title_full_unstemmed Effect of the Irish Civil War 1922-1923 on suicide rates in Ireland: a retrospective investigation of the archives of the registrar-general for Saorstát Éireann
title_short Effect of the Irish Civil War 1922-1923 on suicide rates in Ireland: a retrospective investigation of the archives of the registrar-general for Saorstát Éireann
title_sort effect of the irish civil war 1922 1923 on suicide rates in ireland a retrospective investigation of the archives of the registrar general for saorstat eireann
url https://ebph.it/article/view/12920
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AT macdaramccauley effectoftheirishcivilwar19221923onsuicideratesinirelandaretrospectiveinvestigationofthearchivesoftheregistrargeneralforsaorstateireann