Suicide Rates and Olympians: What Do We Know?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v17i1.832Keywords:
Elite Athletes, Premature Mortality, High-Performance Sport, Risk Stratification, InfographicsAbstract
Background: Death by suicide is a global problem among the general population. Factors that contribute to the risk of death by suicide include age (chronological), sex (assigned at birth), and economic factors (high-income versus lower-income countries). Investigations of death by suicide focused on athletes remain sparse with limited attention devoted to athletes competing at elite levels of sport. Purpose: This paper describes results from a preliminary study of death by suicide reported between 1896 and 2023 for Olympic athletes. Methods: This study combined a non-experimental research design with archival data to address this question: What do we know about suicide rates and Olympians? Results: The mean age of death by suicide for Olympic athletes was 44.44 years (SD = 15.33 years). Death by suicide was more common in males and athletes representing high-income countries. The frequency of death by suicide between 1896 and 2023 was variable (Median = 2.00 suicides per year). Conclusions: Olympic athletes do not seem immune to dying by suicide.
References
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Copyright (c) 2024 Philip Wilson, Emily Bonisteel, Diane Mack
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