The Social Bias of Suicide: a study on the association between unemployment and suicide in Brazil
The relationship between suicide and unemployment is well established in international literature, and studies on the Brazilian case, although incipient, question the results observed in other countries. This research questions how unemployment influences suicide mortality rates in Brazil. Thus, the objectives of this work were to investigate the relationship between unemployment and suicide in Brazil, to verify if there was an increase in suicide rates in parallel to the increase in unemployment in the country, and to explore possible explanations for the relationship between unemployment and the decision to take one's own life. The hypothesis of this study is that the increase in unemployment in Brazil has a direct correlation with the increase in suicide rates. The study is based on a review of the literature on public policies, mental health, labor, suicide, and unemployment, and employs a large-scale observational quantitative study, building simple regression models for the census years of 1991, 2000, and 2010, and a multiple regression model for 2010. The relationship between the variables was identified, however, the results of the correlation between the Unemployment Rate (TD) and Suicide Mortality Rate (TMS) variables for the years 1991, 2000, and 2010 show a negative and statistically significant correlation, albeit weak. This study also identified that an increase in the Human Development Index (HDI) is associated with an average decrease in suicide rates. In addition, the results suggest that in Brazil, being employed can become a risk factor and cause psychological suffering for workers, rather than serve as a protective factor. The dissertation highlights the importance of addressing suicide as a public health problem and the need for effective public policies to prevent suicide, which consider not only unemployment but also labor and socioeconomic factors, such as job precarization and human development.