Incidence of note‐leaving remains constant despite increasing suicide rates

Abstract

Suicide notes (SN) are potentially valuable sources of information about the psychological states of the suicidal person. It was hypothesized that there was a significant relation between suicide rate and note-leaving rate and that the incidence of note-leaving was increased during prolonged economic recession. During 21 years (1981-2001) in Kobe, of a total of 18 558 violent deaths, 5161 were due to suicide (27.8%), with 3417 male cases (66.2%) and 1754 female cases (33.8%). For each year the annual suicide rates and note-leaving rates were calculated, and this represents the percentage of committed suicides in which SN were left, among all suicide victims. In spite of the prolonged economic slump, the note-leaving rate remained almost constant (23.4-36.2%). Pearson's correlation coefficient showed no significant correlation between suicide rate and note-leaving rates (r = 0.27, P = 0.23). The finding that the incidence of note-leaving remains constant despite increasing suicide rates may suggest that the reasons for suicide do not affect note-leaving. There are cross-cultural, ethnic, and racial variations in suicidal behaviors. Although this finding may be specific in Japan, further studies of SN are needed to help clarify the suicidal states of mind.