SUICIDES AND HOMICIDES IN THEIR RELATION TO WEATHER CHANGES

C. A. MillsAuthors Info & Affiliations

Publication: American Journal of Psychiatry

Volume 91, Number 3

https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.91.3.669

Get Access

Abstract

1. A strong suggestion of storm effect is seen in the distribution of suicides and homicides in North American cities. The rates are not highest where industrialization is most advanced, but rather where barometric pressure and temperature changes are most frequent and severe.

2. Suicides show a definite time relationship to weather changes as high- and low-pressure centers approach and pass by. With tailing pressure and rising temperature, suicides rapidly rise. Most peaks in frequency occur at the time of a low-pressure crisis. With rising pressure and falling temperature few suicides occur.

3. Migration from the South into the more stormy North is accompanied by a marked rise in suicides among negroes. Figures are not available to show whether the same is true of the whites. Increased economic stress in the North may, of course, play a large part in this rise.

4. These findings indicate the likelihood that the wide shifts in temperature and pressure that accompany North American storms may play a considerable part in producing the mental instability of our population and the rising rate of breakdown. Much of this storm effect probably works through increasing the tempo of life and the economic competition. There probably remains, however, a distinct disturbing action of the storm changes as they affect the body directly.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

Get Access

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

American Journal of Psychiatry

Volume 91 • Number 3 • November 1934

Pages: 669 - 677

History

Published in print: November 1934

Published online: 1 April 2006

Authors

Details

C. A. Mills

Umversity of Cincinnati

View all articles by this author

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Export Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu.

Format	RIS (ProCite, Reference Manager) EndNote BibTex Medlars RefWorks
Direct importt
Citation style
Style

Copy to clipboard
Tips for downloading citations

View Options

Get Access

Login options

Already a subscriber? Access your subscription through your login credentials or your institution for full access to this article.

Personal login Institutional Login Open Athens login

Purchase Options

Purchase this article to access the full text.

PPV Articles - American Journal of Psychiatry

Not a subscriber?

Subscribe Now / Learn More

PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5-TR^® library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development.

Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).

SUICIDES AND HOMICIDES IN THEIR RELATION TO WEATHER CHANGES

Abstract

Get full access to this article