Elderly Suicide - A Question Of Social Standing?

The growing social inequality in Germany features a strong spatial component, which is why attention to the concentration of poverty in specific urban areas triggers so much attention, beyond just the social sciences. Subsequent we argue that the reported suicide statistics in the Berlin Health Report require a closer inspection because the zones used in reporting are not sensitive enough to provide a robust picture of the articulation of social status and suicide. For example, in 2009 the Berlin health report suggested that there was no relationship between elderly suicide (individuals over 60) and social status.

Although Germans have never been healthier, or had such high life expectancy, social inequality continues to rise. While the population as a whole is experiencing this positive social development, it runs counter to the findings that people who are on the periphery, those who are socially and economically disadvantaged, experience less of this good health and extended life. Often these people are clustered together geographically.

The identification of these zones or socially weak areas is based on the research of the working group "Monitoring Soziale Stadtentwicklung" in Berlin. They aim to describe and analyse the socio-structural transformation of parts of the city and different districts through a statistical indicator system. Their very precise development index for smaller spatial areas was correlated with the comprehensive coroner data we collected. Then, by ranking the districts with the highest suicide statistics and comparing them to the Berlin health report, we detected a strong correlation between social status and elderly suicide. This suggests that incorporating the legal and medical records from the coroner and altering the definition of a municipal district to capture this fine level of detail establishes a real and concerning trend.