Thinking clearly about suicide in India: suitable girls and companionate couples - social change and suicide in the Indian family

Abstract

Relative to men, women in India are much more likely to take their own lives than women living in industrialised societies. They do so at higher rates and at younger ages than many of those in the West. Marriage does not confer any relative protection from suicide risk for young Indian men; this too is a notable contrast with the evidence from developed economies. There are many potential stressors on Indian women which might explain the pattern of suicide risk. Changes in expectations about marriage relationships appear to be one potent factor in explaining the patterns.