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Story: Suicide

Marital status of male suicides, 1900–1950

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 Marital status of male suicides, 1900–1950

Male suicides were more likely to be unmarried, widowed or separated than married. The personal support of marriage may have given some protection from the loneliness and despair which often led to suicide. 

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: John Weaver, A sadly troubled history: the meanings of suicide in the modern age. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queens University Press, 2009. p. 171

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How to cite this page

Jock Phillips, Suicide – Social factors and suicide, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/graph/26430/marital-status-of-male-suicides-1900-1950 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 31 March 2011, reviewed and revised 16 July 2019 with assistance from Rosemary Du Plessis.