Abstract
Work on the relationship between female labor force participation and suicide has been limited largely to the U.S. The present study tests this perspective with data from 53 nations representing a wide range in level of socio-economic development. Female labor force participation (FPLF), an index of role conflict, is found to be positively related to both male and female suicide. However, when the sample is restricted to nations at high levels of FPLF, FPLF is related only to male suicide. This failure of FPLF to increase female suicide is interpreted in terms of role expansion theory and the context of greater cultural support for FPLF. The results are independent of indicators from industrialization and anomie theories of suicide.
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Stack, S. The relationship of female labor force participation to suicide: A comparative analysis. Archives of Suicide Research 4, 249–261 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009600825734
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009600825734