Statistical Analysis of Suicide and Other Mortality Rates of Students

There has been a good deal of interest in cases of suicide among students since Parnell (1951), Parnell and Skottowe (1957), and Rook (1959) have published papers describing high suicide rates among Oxford and Cambridge undergraduates.The Times (1959) drew attention to the fact that, as these studies are based on few cases, the suicide rates given may vary a good deal by chance.The following study, based on the figures given in Rook's paper, is an attempt to evaluate the statistical significance of the incidence rates found at the different Universities.The study also considers briefly other forms of mortality among students.No attempt is made to discuss the implication of the findings.MATERIAL DEATHS OF CAMBRIDGE UNDERGRADUATES.-Unless the General Register Office publishes figures, it is not easy to find out what mortality is occurring in a particular group of people.Since the University Health Service started in October, 1948, note has been taken of the deaths of undergraduates, and a careful watch has also been maintained on the three or four newspapers in which such deaths would most probably be reported.Further, in 1958, a search was made by the Cambridge Medical Officer of Health of the records of deaths registered in the city, and the details of all deaths of university students were abstracted.The search started from the present and went back, with the exception of 2 years, as far as the beginning of the academic year 1923-24.Newspapers were scanned to cover the two years in the 1930s for which records were not available.