Study of protective factors for suicide in the areas with rare suicide incidence in japan

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25460774
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Epidemiology and preventive medicine
• Research Institution: Wakayama Medical University
• Principal Investigator: OKA MAYUMI 和歌山県立医科大学, 保健看護学部, 講師 (10649247)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): ARITA Mikio 和歌山県立医科大学, 保健看護学部, 教授 (40168018)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: コミュニティ / 自殺希少地域 / 自殺予防因子 / ソーシャル・キャピタル / 環境

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Of the various social factors that contribute to suicide, this research focuses on the characteristics of communities, which are a base of living for people. Through this research we will strive to gain clues about how to prevent suicide by making clear the factors that contribute to suicide prevention in areas where suicide is rare. We carried out local investigations using a survey that targeted 5,300 residents in a total of 17 cities and towns in 4 prefectures - Tokushima, Aomori, Kyoto and Nara.
In the areas where suicide is rare, factors such as openness towards outsiders, the tendency to evaluate others by their character, the appropriate degree of help-seeking, and loose human connections were more apparent than in regions where suicide occurs frequently. It has become clear that such factors do not derive from modern-day efforts to prevent suicide but are rather factors that has been cultivated over the course of a few hundred years.

Free Research Field

健康社会学