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Bristol/Stockholm (pte015/21.01.2005/10:45) - Intelligent young men are less likely to commit suicide than others, researchers say. As the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk reports, a Swedish-UK team of scientists has found that young men who scored low on intelligence tests are two to three times more likely to take their own life. According to the researchers, problems in childhood might be an underlying cause. The team of scientists followed nearly a million 18-year-old men serving in the military for up to 26 years.
According to the lead author of the study, David Gunnell from the University of Bristol http://www.bristol.ac.uk , who worked with colleagues from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden http://www.ki.se , there was evidence suggesting intellectual performance is associated with psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and depression. "But there have been few studies looking at intelligence and suicide," he said. "This is the largest study to examine the issue. We found quite strong evidence of an association between performance on intelligence and subsequent suicide risk," he added.
People that did better on tests of logic, language, spatial and technical skills were less likely to commit suicide, the researchers found. The risk of suicide with the logic test score was three times higher in the lowest compared with the highest scorers. They also found that army recruits who performed poorly on the intelligence tests and had well-educated parents appeared to be at a higher suicide risk. According to the researchers, influences on brain development during childhood might increase a person's risk of mental illness and hence suicide. It could also be that children who experience crisis and are less able to adapt to it grow up to be at an increased risk of suicide they said. "Intelligence may impact on their chances in life, such as the job they get, their financial security and their prospects of getting married. All of these factors could be important in suicide risk," said Gunnell.
According to the Samaritans organisation, suicide accounts for a fifth of all deaths amongst young people aged 15-24 and is the second most common cause of death amongst young people after accidental death. Although young women aged 15-19 are the group most likely to attempt suicide, young men are much more likely to die as a result of their suicide attempt, organisation Mind said.
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