Suicide trends in Canada and West Germany: an application of configural frequency analysis

Canadian and West German successful suicides for the years 1974-1977 were used to fit a log-linear model relating age, method of suicide, gender, and country to suicide frequency. Configural frequency analyses (CFA) were performed to complement the log-linear analyses, as well as to obtain more information about the data. A log-linear model involving all four three-way interactions among these variables was required to explain the observed frequency distribution in a satisfactory manner. Results from this study support McIntosh and Santos's (1982) findings that each gender displays its own unique pattern of methods of suicide. This study also showed that each group has its own unique pattern of methods of suicide within each specific gender group. Results from CFA showed different patterns in the trends of suicide for each age x gender x country x method of suicide grouping. These results can be used to help clarify the intricate relationships among the factors that are important in explaining suicide trends.