Violent deaths in the United States, 1900–1975: Relationships between suicide, homicide and accidental deaths

Time trends are presented for suicide, homicide and accident mortality rates in the United States, 1900–1975. These data suggest that national mortality rates for suicide, homicide and motor- vehicle accidents tend to be parallel over time. Non-motor-vehicle accidents, while showing some fluctuations similar to those of other forms of violent deaths, manifest a more general decrease throughout the century. In addition, suicide rates tend to be significantly correlated over time with homicide, motor- vehicle and non-motor-vehicle accident death rates for most race and sex combinations. These results need to be viewed with caution due to the methodologic problems inherent in using national mortality data. However, the findings raise serious questions about the traditional understanding of the relationships between the various forms of violent death in populations; in particular, the popular view that suicide and homicide are inversely related in populations is questioned. The explanatory usefulness of conceptualizing violent deaths as reflecting self-destructive tendencies is discussed.