High and Rising Mortality Rates Among Working Age Adults

Course overview

Course Description: This course is based on material published in the National Academies Press and is available as an open-access article. This chapter focuses on the trends and disparities in and explanations for the recent rise in suicide mortality among U.S. working-age adults. For purposes of this report, suicide deaths do not include suicides by drug poisoning because of the difficulty of differentiating between intentional and accidental drug poisoning. First, the trends in suicide mortality are presented by age, sex, race and ethnicity, and geography for the study period (1990-2017). This is followed by a review of the research literature on factors related to suicide mortality and the degree to which such factors have changed to bring about the recent rise in suicides. Given that the rise in suicide mortality rates was driven by the rising rates among Whites, explanations for the increase in suicide mortality should focus mainly on working-age Whites. A paucity of existing research, however, examines suicide by race and ethnicity or seeks to explain the recent rise in suicide. Nevertheless, this chapter presents the committee's assessment of the literature in explaining the trends in suicide, along with its recommendation for addressing related data needs. This course on mortality rates in working-age adults is designed for clinical social workers, psychologists, professional counselors, nurses, and substance abuse counselors who do clinical work. This course is appropriate for intermediate and advanced-level practitioners who wish to develop their expertise with mortality rates in working-age adults. The course material includes a literature review of research. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require continuing clinical education courses for license renewal. The course is based on a journal article that includes research. It contains statistical analysis and data that some clinicians enjoy reading and others do not. A significant benefit of reading peer-reviewed research-based articles for continuing education is that they provide practitioners with the latest findings in their field. Authors: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding mortality rates in working-age adults. Specifically, a professional will: Identify trends in suicide. Describe possible explanations for the rise in suicide mortality. Recognize the role of physical, mental, and emotional health on mortality. Citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education; Committee on National Statistics; Committee on Population; Committee on Rising Midlife Mortality Rates and Socioeconomic Disparities, Becker, T., Majmundar, M. K., & Harris, K. M. (Eds.). (2021). High and Rising Mortality Rates Among Working-Age Adults. National Academies Press (US).