Residential mobility and suicide in Belgium: understanding the role of union transitions and life stages.

This paper aims to investigate the association between mobility and suicide and the role of the context of the move regarding union transitions – that are closely linked to the residential mobilities – and life stages. Belgian National Register, Population Census, and death certificates allow to follow all individuals aged 20 to 64 registered in Belgium for at least one year between 2008 and 2015 (N=7,246,740 individuals and 4,109 suicides) and to reconstruct their trajectories in terms of mobility and union transitions. Cox proportional hazard models confirm that, except for moves in the... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Joan Damiens
20th Divorce Network Conference
Dokumenttyp: conferenceObject
Erscheinungsdatum: 2022
Schlagwörter: Mobility / suicide / Belgium / partnership transitions
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-26990182
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/283445

This paper aims to investigate the association between mobility and suicide and the role of the context of the move regarding union transitions – that are closely linked to the residential mobilities – and life stages. Belgian National Register, Population Census, and death certificates allow to follow all individuals aged 20 to 64 registered in Belgium for at least one year between 2008 and 2015 (N=7,246,740 individuals and 4,109 suicides) and to reconstruct their trajectories in terms of mobility and union transitions. Cox proportional hazard models confirm that, except for moves in the context of union formation, a move is generally associated with a higher risk of suicide than immobility in most cases – even when the individual remains single or in the same relationship as before the move. But it also highlights that union dissolutions are associated with a higher risk of suicide - whether accompanied by residential mobility or not. However, we notice that middle-aged adults (40 to 54) present higher suicide risks in all cases of residential mobility compared to immobility, especially if accompanied by a union dissolution. Mobility (compared to immobility) for individuals who are in stable situations (single or in a union) or who seek stability (in their mid-adulthood) is associated with higher risks of suicide. This finding can reflect the static character of the Belgian housing market, where housing-related transactions are costly.