Citation
Markowitz, Sara; Chatterji, Pinka; Kaestner, Robert; & Dave, Dhaval (2002). Substance use and suicidal behaviors among young adults. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series. vol. No. 8810Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine the causal impact of alcohol and illicit drug use on suicidal behaviors among college students. Every year, more American youth die from suicide than from all leading natural causes of death combined. Substance use has been identified as a leading risk factor in suicidal behaviors. We use instrumental variables to estimate a structural model of suicidal thoughts and attempts. A reduced form equation is also estimated which directly relates the determinants of alcohol and drug use to suicidal behaviors. Data come from the Core Institute's Alcohol and Drug Surveys of College Students. The results are consistent with a causal mechanism from alcohol and illicit drug consumption to suicide thoughts and attempts.URL
http://www.nber.org/papers/w8810Notes
Author contact info: Sara Markowitz Department of Economics Emory University Rich Memorial Building 1602 Fishburne Dr. Atlanta, GA 30322 Tel: (404) 712-8167 E-Mail: sara.markowitz@emory.edu Pinka Chatterji State University of New York at Albany Economics Department 1400 Washington Avenue Albany, NY 12222 Tel: 518/442-4746 E-Mail: pchatterji@albany.edu Robert Kaestner Department of Economics University of Illinois at Chicago 601 S. Morgan Street Chicago, IL 60607 Tel: (312)996-2683 E-Mail: kaestner.robert@gmail.com Dhaval M. Dave Bentley University Department of Economics 175 Forest Street, AAC 195 Waltham, MA 02452-4705 E-Mail: ddave@bentley.eduReference Type
Journal ArticleJournal Title
National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper SeriesAuthor(s)
Markowitz, SaraChatterji, Pinka
Kaestner, Robert
Dave, Dhaval