Source: Weekend Australian, December 13, 1992, p.6
Source: Weekend Australian, December 13, 1992, p.6
by Rohan Sullivan Monday is the day of the week when Australians are most likely to commit suicide. Researchers at Adelaide's Flinders University yesterday released the results of an exam- ination of the 19,425 suicides reported in Australia between 1981 and 1990 to determine variations in the day, month and season when people killed themselves. The findings will be released in a paper to the Australian Sociological Association today. The assessment shows Mondays, especially in spring, are the worst day for committing suicide for both men and women. The day fewest people commit suicide is Saturday. Professor Riaz Hassan, from the sociology department at Flinders University, said an average of 4.54 men committed suicide on Mondays compared with 3.92 on Saturdays. For women, 1.27 killed themselves on Monday, while the lowest point was Wednesday at 1.09. Tuesday was the next worst day for men and Friday for women. The study was undertaken to assess the "popular folklore" that suicide is often linked to the time of day, a day of the week or the phases of the moon. The highest average daily rate of suicide among men occurs in the warmer months, with November the highest, followed by September, October, December and January. The highest female rates occur in March, then August, December, September and October. Professor Hassan said further research could reveal whether Christmas and school holidays produced more suicidal behaviour.
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