Male suicide

[CharonY]

In a number of posts male suicide have been cited as a counterargument of sexism and it has even been suggested (ridiculously) that women's right are a potential cause. While there is still a lot of unknowns regarding the recent increase especially in the US, I'd like to lay out some of the things that we know so far.

- male suicide rate is higher than female, though attempted suicide rates are higher in women

- men tend to act faster on suicidal thoughts and are less likely than women to seek help

- men are more likely to be socially isolated, which is a risk factor for suicide

- men are more distressed when encountering financial troubles and suicide rate is more prevalent in men in lower-income groups

- male suicides are more likely to occur in relation to drug substance abuse than female suicide

 

There are a few more factors that I could list upon request. However, this is a decent basis to start asking of why men react differently to women. One of the largest studies to look into these effects was conducted by Wong et al (2017 , Journal of Counseling Psychology) and it traces it down to essentially toxic masculinity. After a short break I will elaborate on what it means.

[Ten oz]

I started a thread about Male suicide a couple years ago: http://www.scienceforums.net/topic/92821-white-male-mortality-in-the-us/

 

 

It is an interesting issue. There has been a measurable increase in suicide. Specific among white males. I researched it a bit in the past but never got to a place where I understood why or even had any good theories. That is why I put the thread I made in Speculation. Your specific question in this thread is about a possible relationship between suicide and sexism. I don't think sexism is a large factor as race seems to play a bigger role and sexism exists across racial lines. 

"In 2015, the highest U.S. suicide rate (15.1) was among Whites and the second highest rate (12.6) was among American Indians and Alaska Natives (Figure 5). Much lower and roughly similar rates were found among Asians and Pacific Islanders (6.4), and Blacks (5.6)."

https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/

[Raider5678]

Toxic masculinity?

[CharonY]

I am aware of the thread in speculations, but a body of literature around this subject has been formed recently and I did not want to use the speculation thread (which went on various tangents as they do) to discuss current literature.  A difference across racial lines does not necessarily mean that race in itself is an explanatory element. This is especially important as suicide as a whole is a relatively rare event. In other words, being white, is a bad predictor for suicide as (rather obviously) most do not commit suicide.

The question therefore is what are the risk factors? Known risk factors of suicide are mental health issues as well as lack of support (including access to mental health care, suicide prevention programs etc.). While it is likely not the only reason, it is the best researched part.

There is good statistical evidence that this may be the result of poorer mental health outcomes in men, which, as already mentioned, correlates with increased suicide risk. One interesting aspect is that many suicide prevention programs are aimed at younger people (who traditionally were more prone to suicide) but now the risk has increased in middle-aged people. So one factor is a lack of mental health support. Another observation is that especially middle-aged men often do not seek mental health support. Overall poor mental health outcomes, connected with inadequate support appear to be important, if not dominant drivers related to suicide. We will revisit this point later.

A number of researchers have then asked the question what are the causes of this situation and why are men more vulnerable? One hypothesis states that at middle age people get more introspective and if they consider their situation to be hopeless, suicide risk increases. 

Risk factors here include lack or loss of partner, low-income and/or social standing and especially loss, poor health and drug abuse. In some cases the factors may not be independent, as e.g. drug abuse can lead to poor health and job loss, or poor health can lead to addiction.

But then the question remains why is successful suicide more prevalent in men? The meta-study that I mentioned earlier is part of a large body of literature that deals with perception of men and associated mental health which leads to interesting hypothesis. Wong et al looked at characteristics that are generally associated with masculinity and looked at respondent's attitudes to it as well as their mental health status. 

It is based on the observation that there is a gender-distinct set of traits  and norms that people are expect to conform. For example competitiveness and suppression of emotions is typically seen as  masculine traits. Non-conformity (i.e. men not being competitive or women being competitive) are often perceived negatively (or at least more negatively than conforming to these traits). In psychological studies a number of these classes have been inventorized for further analyses.

Further studies have revealed that strong conformity to these masculine ideals is associated with greater psychological distress. It is not so much that the individual traits may be the cause, but the failure to meet those ideals. In addition, certain ideals can be seen as harmful when expressed  (e.g. violence) or limits ones ability to improve a bad situation (e.g. self-reliance). Thus there are certain masculine traits that in itself or due to strict adherence can be harmful to men when they try to be "real men". These are sometimes referred to toxic masculine traits if they are ultimately harmful  (mostly to men but in some contexts it extends also to women in such relationships). In contrast, there are masculine traits that have not been associated with negative outcomes (primacy of work for example) or which are not negative when present in moderation (e.g. risk-taking).

Going back to the meta-study I mentioned, the authors looked at several dozen studies to identify traits that are specifically adversely associated with mental health outcome. The strongest predictors here were: self-reliance, playboy (defined as lack of emotional involvement in sexual relationships), power over women and another one that I forgot. These traits were found to be robust in a survey of a few dozen studies. In other words, folks that express strong conformity to these traits are at higher risk to suffer from distress or other negative outcomes. And if you recall, these are traits that are also associated with higher suicide risk. Obviously it does not mean that it is the sole or even prime reason.

Moreover,  most other masculine factors except for two (primacy of work and pursuit of status) were also negatively associated with help seeking. In other words, conforming to masculine norms inhibits folks to actively seek help. This is exacerbated by traits that may limit ones ability to form meaningful partnerships. In fact there is data indicating that men in healthy relationship are far less likely to commit suicide but more likely to seek support (everyone who has his SO drag one to the MD can attest to that). 

While the data does not say that this leads to an increase in suicide, it is offers compelling evidence that these traits are important risk factors by adding distress and limiting the ability of affected men to seek help.  This is in contrast, to women, who  are far more likely to seek help when they have suicidal thoughts. 

As a side note on the racial element, some of the studies involved non-whites but the added challenge is that conformity has to be weighed differently. For example, while emotional control is considered a masculine trait in all analyzed groups, in a number of Asian cultures the overall expected level of restraint is higher than in other groups. The conclusion here is that finer-grained analyses are required to figure out the significance of these differences.

 

 

 

[StringJunky]

31 minutes ago, CharonY said:

...As a side note on the racial element, some of the studies involved non-whites but the added challenge is that conformity has to be weighed differently. For example, while emotional control is considered a masculine trait in all analyzed groups, in a number of Asian cultures the overall expected level of restraint is higher than in other groups. The conclusion here is that finer-grained analyses are required to figure out the significance of these differences.

i recently started reading the Japan Times online and there is this notion of 'face' in Asia that seems to be very strong and losing it might be a factor for suicide in that part of the world.

[CharonY]

Yes, that is an interesting concept and it Japan the rate is a bit higher than the USA (15 vs 12 /100,000). But at the same time, I feel the concept of face is often misunderstood or its effect overestimated. Rather it seems that high suicide rates are more strongly associated with financial woes (they trend followed the Asian financial crisis) and also break down of familial structures. In contrast, China has similar concept, but only half the suicide rate. I do think that it is more a mystification of the concept in the Western world that leads people to draw direct link from the concept of face and suicide. 

A more generalized and arguably more useful view would be looking at societal and financial pressures in general. For example, in South Korea, the suicide rate is even higher (about double that of Japan) and there it is strongly linked to poverty among the elderly.

[Ten oz]

13 hours ago, CharonY said:

In other words, being white, is a bad predictor for suicide as (rather obviously) most do not commit suicide.

True, however most of any group does not commit suicide. Even among people working in careers with the highest rates of suicide it is only 85 per 100,000 thousand who commit suicide. I think calling something a "bad predictor" because most don't do it is too simple. Clearly certain groups have higher rates and with those groups  there needs to be more focus. 

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that farmers, lumberjacks and fishermen kill themselves most often. High rates were also seen in carpenters, miners, electricians and people who work in construction. Mechanics were close behind, according to the study, which showed enormous differences of suicide rates across jobs."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/these-jobs-have-the-highest-rate-of-suicide/

 

13 hours ago, CharonY said:

The question therefore is what are the risk factors? Known risk factors of suicide are mental health issues as well as lack of support (including access to mental health care, suicide prevention programs etc.). While it is likely not the only reason, it is the best researched part.

Is it the best researched part; do you have a citation? For starters antidepressants might induce suicidal behavior in some patients (link below). To receive antidepressants in the first place one must have access to healthcare. In those cases the treatment from mental health care professionals itself might be a risk factor.  Additionally if we look at careers with the highest rates of suicide it is clear economic status (a good predictor of access to healthcare) isn't a definitive factor. For example Police and Fire Fighters have more than double the suicide rate of cooks and food service workers yet we all know Police and Fire Fighters as local govt employees receive more pay and benefits. Doctors themselves have  double the suicide rate of barbers. Surely Doctors have more access to care than Barbers? 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC193979/

 

13 hours ago, CharonY said:

One hypothesis states that at middle age people get more introspective and if they consider their situation to be hopeless, suicide risk increases. 

If this hypothesis were true than doesn't that make introspection itself a risk factor since the way one views their situation is purely relative? Like the old Chris Rock joke goes; Oprah would kill herself if she only had the amount of money I have. BTW, the speculative nature of multiple hypotheses  is why I put the thread I posted in speculation. 

 

13 hours ago, CharonY said:

Risk factors here include lack or loss of partner, low-income and/or social standing and especially loss, poor health and drug abuse. In some cases the factors may not be independent, as e.g. drug abuse can lead to poor health and job loss, or poor health can lead to addiction.

 Doctors and Policeman commit suicide at higher rates than cooks and barbers. I do not believe low income is an accurate risk factor. Also I think drug abuse is too large an umbrella. Daily heroin use is probably a much greater risk factor than daily marijuana. 

 

14 hours ago, CharonY said:

But then the question remains why is successful suicide more prevalent in men? The meta-study that I mentioned earlier is part of a large body of literature that deals with perception of men and associated mental health which leads to interesting hypothesis. Wong et al looked at characteristics that are generally associated with masculinity and looked at respondent's attitudes to it as well as their mental health status. 

It is based on the observation that there is a gender-distinct set of traits  and norms that people are expect to conform. For example competitiveness and suppression of emotions is typically seen as  masculine traits. Non-conformity (i.e. men not being competitive or women being competitive) are often perceived negatively (or at least more negatively than conforming to these traits). In psychological studies a number of these classes have been inventorized for further analyses.

Further studies have revealed that strong conformity to these masculine ideals is associated with greater psychological distress. It is not so much that the individual traits may be the cause, but the failure to meet those ideals. In addition, certain ideals can be seen as harmful when expressed  (e.g. violence) or limits ones ability to improve a bad situation (e.g. self-reliance). Thus there are certain masculine traits that in itself or due to strict adherence can be harmful to men when they try to be "real men". These are sometimes referred to toxic masculine traits if they are ultimately harmful  (mostly to men but in some contexts it extends also to women in such relationships). In contrast, there are masculine traits that have not been associated with negative outcomes (primacy of work for example) or which are not negative when present in moderation (e.g. risk-taking).

Going back to the meta-study I mentioned, the authors looked at several dozen studies to identify traits that are specifically adversely associated with mental health outcome. The strongest predictors here were: self-reliance, playboy (defined as lack of emotional involvement in sexual relationships), power over women and another one that I forgot. These traits were found to be robust in a survey of a few dozen studies. In other words, folks that express strong conformity to these traits are at higher risk to suffer from distress or other negative outcomes. And if you recall, these are traits that are also associated with higher suicide risk. Obviously it does not mean that it is the sole or even prime reason.

It this hypothesis is correct why are the suicide rates for white females increasing while the suicide rate for black males in decreasing? It is also worth noting that white women have a higher average salary than black males. I mention it becomes you listed low income as a risk factor. Citation showing salary by race and gender below.

"The number of suicides increased among all racial groups except for black males, who saw an 8 percent decline in suicide rate from 10.5 to 9.7 per 100,000 between 1999 and 2014.

Native Americans had the sharpest rise of all racial and ethnic groups, with rates rising 89 percent for women and 38 percent for men. Suicide rates among white women and white men increased 60 percent and 28 percent, respectively, and white middle-aged women had an increase of 80 percent."

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/health/us-suicide-rate-surges-to-a-30-year-high.html

Salary by gender and race: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/07/01/racial-gender-wage-gaps-persist-in-u-s-despite-some-progress/

14 hours ago, CharonY said:

While the data does not say that this leads to an increase in suicide, it is offers compelling evidence that these traits are important risk factors

I disagree with the risk factors outlined for the above stated reasons. 

[Raider5678]

14 hours ago, CharonY said:

Yes, that is an interesting concept and it Japan the rate is a bit higher than the USA (15 vs 12 /100,000). But at the same time, I feel the concept of face is often misunderstood or its effect overestimated. Rather it seems that high suicide rates are more strongly associated with financial woes (they trend followed the Asian financial crisis) and also break down of familial structures. In contrast, China has similar concept, but only half the suicide rate. I do think that it is more a mystification of the concept in the Western world that leads people to draw direct link from the concept of face and suicide. 

A more generalized and arguably more useful view would be looking at societal and financial pressures in general. For example, in South Korea, the suicide rate is even higher (about double that of Japan) and there it is strongly linked to poverty among the elderly.

Actually, I feel like we would agree depression is something almost universally in common with all suicides?
Perhaps we should look into relations between depression and other factors.

Or no?

[CharonY]

4 hours ago, Ten oz said:

True, however most of any group does not commit suicide. Even among people working in careers with the highest rates of suicide it is only 85 per 100,000 thousand who commit suicide. I think calling something a "bad predictor" because most don't do it is too simple. Clearly certain groups have higher rates and with those groups  there needs to be more focus. 

I agree that my argument was not well laid out. My overall point was to look into gender specific differences, which are consistent in all ethnic groups. Adjustments are required for each group. Thus, the reasons for race specific differences would require a different analysis. There is not a huge amount of research out there that I am aware of, but I could name a few papers who start looking into those differences. But again, in all ethnicities and races the completed suicide rates are higher for men than for women.

If you want to talk about changes in rates the situation becomes more complicated as it is very difficult to link these statistics with specific causative events (and it is especially deceiving is the initial rate is low to begin with) and it would require significant amount of digging to figure out whether something has been reported.

With regard to income levels there are studies that have established higher risk at low perceived or actual socioeconomic status. Specifically for the US it was found that relative status seems also to be a factor (see Daly et al. Federal Reseerve Bank of SF, 2010). I.e. being of lower status than the rest of community increases risk. Also income lower than 34k increases suicide risk, likewise unemployment). I should also note that in other countries different social structures offer significantly different demographics on suicide.

Edited December 22, 2017 by CharonY

[Ten oz]

5 hours ago, CharonY said:

With regard to income levels there are studies that have established higher risk at low perceived or actual socioeconomic status

Do you have a citation for this? I already provided evidence to the contrary. I am not being argumentative; I just haven't seen this in any of the research I have done. 

[CharonY]

Sorry lost track of the thread. I did not mean to ignore your request.

Regarding perceived socioeconomic status: Quite a few studies were done in Korean populations as they have a very high suicide rate and have, for example, explored the connection between perceived socioeconomic position and suicide attempts and ideation. Recent studies include Ko, Lee and Kim (2014, J Korean Med Sci); Kim, Park and Yoo (2015, Arch Gerontol Geriartr). 

Note that suicide rate as viewed by job is not an ideal measure as it extrapolates from a pool. To analyze correlations one really has to go to the raw numbers. Here, studies from various countries (and more indirectly, WHO aggregate data). For US specifically I found the paper from the Federal reserve bank of San Francisco one of the more detailed analyses (referenced in the post above). Some of the key findings:

- The income distribution of the suicide population is roughly similar distributed as the general population, with a bit of a left shift (i.e. the suicide rate is slightly higher in  the below-average income group.  The peak of the average population distribution is at ~40k, the peak for  the suicide population and about  35k (in 1990 dollars). 

-Overall there is moderate correlation for for higher income with lower suicide risk (10% higher income is associated with 0.87% lower suicide risk). 

-When looking at income groups, individuals with less than 20k income are significantly more likely to commit suicide than those with above 60k (and 20k-60k see no significant different to above 60k). Looking hazard rations, an individual with a family income less than 10k is 50% more likely to commit sucide than an individual with an income above 60k. The change with income in non-linearly, though.

- However at any given income, being in a county that has a higher average income increases suicide risk. This is a finding that follows a similar theme found in the Korean study (and which I referred to above as relative income). I.e. persons with a lower average income than the county they live in, have a higher suicide risk (with apparently a broader effect on the bottom of the distribution).

Race (and gender) is an independent factor from income indicating different social structures that affect suicide risk in the respective groups. 

 

 

 

Edited January 10, 2018 by CharonY

[Ten oz]

The 40k number jumps out at me as interesting. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area but have lived in Boise ID, San Diego, Newport News VA (just a year), and currently call Washington DC home. 40K would make one living in Boise ID or Newport  News VA upper middle class yet someone living in CA or DC poor. It is a tough nut to crack and we almost/probably need  to look at each case relative to the average income and cost of living within the region where the suicide takes place. 

Have you seen any studies which indicate areas of the country with higher or lower rates?

[CharonY]

Within the US? If you are really interested, I could generate a map or a table from CDC data if you know what you want to look for. I am not sure whether there is a finer grained study available though.

Note that the differences are mitigated somewhat as they also looked at the relative income differences. I.e. even with a high income, if one lives in an even higher income county the suicide risk is higher as with someone with a lower income, but living in a lower income county. Though at the lower end it still gets disproportionately higher. Seemingly paradoxically it therefore seems that in somewhat wealthier neighborhoods the suicide rates are higher, but it mostly actually affects the low income group within that community.

To some degree this might explain the lower overall suicide rate in black communties, much of the population has been historically segmented into specific communities (which in part are the effects of e.g. redlining).

 

Edited January 11, 2018 by CharonY

[Ten oz]

11 hours ago, CharonY said:

To some degree this might explain the lower overall suicide rate in black communties, much of the population has been historically segmented into specific communities (which in part are the effects of e.g. redlining).

That seems like a leap. Black communities in New Orleans are very different than one in San Francisco: size, income, education, access to healthcare, and etc. When I have time It will see it I can find region stats. I believe I had seen some in the past which indicated the midwest having significantly higher rates but I could be mistaken. 

[CharonY]

6 hours ago, Ten oz said:

That seems like a leap. Black communities in New Orleans are very different than one in San Francisco: size, income, education, access to healthcare, and etc. When I have time It will see it I can find region stats. I believe I had seen some in the past which indicated the midwest having significantly higher rates but I could be mistaken. 

Extrapolating from small subpopulations (e.g. teachers vs cooks; black people in New Orleans vs San Francisco) is usually not helpful in understanding general trends, unless these populations are highly representative of something you are looking at. I just realized, perhaps you are confused by the fact that Federal Reserve Bank of SF published the paper. The authors used national data, not local.

Some other info: the observed socioeconomic link is not found in black communities. I.e. in white populations the lower income levels suffer higher rates of suicide, whereas no difference was found in black communities. Note that the income in the lower brackets in black communities were roughly half that of the same bracket in white communities (I believe depending on study somewhere between 10-17k for black populations and 20-35k in white). In addition, the age structure is different between black and white, where in black communties suicide rate is higher in younger folks whereas it is increasingly higher in white middle-aged people. From these observation the hypothesis was formed that either not reaching an aspired socioeconomic status, or perhaps more importantly, loss of socioeconomic status increases suicide risk in white males. Since many black populations are located on the lower respective end of the income curve their disappointment is more directed at lack of perspective rather than not meeting aspirations.

I am not sure whether someone thought of a good way to study that, though.

[Ten oz]

On 1/11/2018 at 2:55 PM, CharonY said:

Extrapolating from small subpopulations (e.g. teachers vs cooks; black people in New Orleans vs San Francisco) is usually not helpful in understanding general trends, unless these populations are highly representative of something you are looking at. I just realized, perhaps you are confused by the fact that Federal Reserve Bank of SF published the paper. The authors used national data, not local.

Some other info: the observed socioeconomic link is not found in black communities. I.e. in white populations the lower income levels suffer higher rates of suicide, whereas no difference was found in black communities. Note that the income in the lower brackets in black communities were roughly half that of the same bracket in white communities (I believe depending on study somewhere between 10-17k for black populations and 20-35k in white). In addition, the age structure is different between black and white, where in black communties suicide rate is higher in younger folks whereas it is increasingly higher in white middle-aged people. From these observation the hypothesis was formed that either not reaching an aspired socioeconomic status, or perhaps more importantly, loss of socioeconomic status increases suicide risk in white males. Since many black populations are located on the lower respective end of the income curve their disappointment is more directed at lack of perspective rather than not meeting aspirations.

I am not sure whether someone thought of a good way to study that, though.

It has been Studied. A Princeton Professor named Anne Case has done a couple papers about the growing mortality of white males. Her approach doesn't exclusively look at suicide though. It includes suicide along with drug overdoses and other "deaths of despair" and has charted them out across the country. I didn't copy and paste the charts because they are large but I linked the research below. 

"The states with the highest mortality rates from drugs, alcohol and suicide, among white non-Hispanics aged 45-54, are geographically scattered. In 2000, the epidemic was centered in the southwest. By the mid-2000s it had spread to Appalachia, Florida, and the west coast. Today, it’s country-wide.

The authors suggest that the increases in deaths of despair are accompanied by a measurable deterioration in economic and social wellbeing, which has become more pronounced for each successive birth cohort. Marriage rates and labor force participation rates fall between successive birth cohorts, while reports of physical pain, and poor health and mental health rise.

Case and Deaton document an accumulation of pain, distress, and social dysfunction in the lives of working class whites that took hold as the blue-collar economic heyday of the early 1970s ended, and continued through the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent slow recovery."

https://www.brookings.edu/bpea-articles/mortality-and-morbidity-in-the-21st-century/

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/03/23/521083335/the-forces-driving-middle-aged-white-peoples-deaths-of-despai

In my opinion I don't see any reason to look at this issue universally based on income, access to healthcare, and etc. The rates of increase simply are not universal. This epidemic is specifically impacting white males. Other groups are not experiencing the same increased rates. Anne Case's work does list economic factors as a contributor as you have with the primary difference being it is only a contributor for White Males. Per the CDC the top 10 States with the highest rates if suicide are: Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Oklahoma.

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045217

It is worth noting the Wyoming is 93% white, Montana is 90% white, Utah is 91% white, and Idaho is 93% white. There is not a single State with suicide rates below the national average that are 90% white or greater.

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/ID,UT,MT,WY/PST045217

 

 

 

 

[CharonY]

Perhaps I was unclear. What I have not seen are studies showing whether black suicide rates are lower because they are less distressed by bad economic or other situations. I have outlined in the OP why specifically males are more affected than females and in the latter ones offered the speculation why black people may be less distressed even under worse conditions. There is no single catch-all element that will explain the whole thing but there are certain trends that have been investigated, including socioeconomic status, drug abuse, health etc. Some are starting to look at more difficult to measure elements such as perceived status (as mentioned above). But contrary to some assertions above socioeconomic status is relevant. However, it its impact is felt different across a) gender and b) racial lines. Both aspects have been subject to further studies, (including in the one in OP) but not necessarily in relation to suicide.

However, if we now want to switch to race-related suicide, In black communities suicide is concentrated more in younger folks and in children has surpassed white suicide rates. Since that has been a recent trend I am not sure how much one can find in literature regarding potential causes. But what it indicates is that, as mentioned above, risk factors vary with the population under investigation.

Edited January 14, 2018 by CharonY

[Ten oz]

CharonY, Black and Asian suicide rates are mostly unchanged. Since 2000 they have not risen or fell by more than half a percent. The change in trend has been among whites.

https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/

 

On 12/20/2017 at 7:30 PM, CharonY said:

there is still a lot of unknowns regarding the recent increase especially in the US

I see 2 different conversations being blurred together here.There is a conversation about recent increase and a conversation about suicide in general. All recent increases are among the white population. It is one and perhaps the only thing which regarding recent increases. That said if we look at suicide overall it impacts every community. Even groups which have not experienced increases still are experiencing suicide. No group has fallen to zero. So what is the OP asking; why the increase or why does suicide happen period? I don't see how we can address the increases without acknowledging it is specific to race.

 

I have a theory about the increase among whites. It is based on my own experiences traveling within the country. I cannot and am not claiming it as fact. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. I worked in the San Francisco financial district for the first 6yrs of my working adult life. Then I moved to Boise Idaho for 4yrs. There was a lot of culture shock moving from someplace like San Francisco to Boise. One of the biggest culture shocks was the prominence of conservative talk radio. In San Francisco people typically had on music around the office. As a young person I thought AM radio was just weather and local news. I wasn't aware of the laundry list of conservative talk radio personalities. At work, in the local coffee shops, and seemingly everywhere I went conservative talk radio was always on in Boise. As a result of the continues stream of the divisive content  I noticed a lot of people were visible put into bad moods over what they were listening to. Sometimes it was subtle as an eye roll or shaking of the head but other times it was vocal complaints about the state of the nation or society at large. It was a very different reaction than I had seen among those listening to music around the office in San Francisco where foot tapping or head nodding to the beat was the common interactive response. Since that time I have lived in San Diego, Newport News VA, and am currently in Washington DC. I have consistently noticed that people who follow conservative punditry have a worse (less happy) overall demeanor. You show me someone listening to Rush Limbaugh all day and I will show you someone who is easily displeased. Conservative punditry is more explicitly angry and dissatisfied than liberal punditry and followers seem to listen for longer portions of their day. There are no Conservative equals to Bill Maher, John  Oliver, Trevor Noah, Samantha Bee, John Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and etc. Liberal media is inherently more comical and less serious. Not only that but known of the media personalities I named host shows which are longer than an hour. Bill Maher isn't hosting a 4 hour daily radio show in addition to his TV show like Sean Hannity and Laura Ingram are. Those who follow conservative media get larger and more negative doses.

So who is following conservative media; white people. 90% of blacks, 70% of Hispanics, and 70% of Asians identify as liberal. Conservatives in the U.S. are overwhelmingly white. I believe that as conservative media has grown over the years it has negatively impacted the daily disposition of its core audience. That impact is felt beyond political ideology. Being raised by an moody parent, married to a dissatisfied spouse, sibling to someone who's constantly angry, neighbor to an asshole, and etc all has an impact on the overall quality of ones life. Doesn't matter is an individual white person follows conservative media or not. All white people are more likely to have those in their life who are. The result is more depressed and suicidal white people. Other groups (minorities) are less likely to have regular interactions with large groups of people who follow and are influenced by negative conservative media. If you think this theory is crazy try listening to Mark Levin a couple hours everyday for a month and then tell me if you feel more or less positive overall.