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Comment by searealist | Hacker News Reader

This is only true for young adult men. Middle-aged women still have higher suicide rates than young adult women.

What do you mean by "still"? Men have higher suicide rates in general all over the world.

By “still,” they meant that the article’s observation about younger men being more suicidal than older men doesn’t apply likewise to younger women & older women. So older women still are more suicidal than younger women.

Re-read what I wrote.

Sadly, women that don't land a man before beauty fades are far more likely to end up lonely.

Having responsibility gives men purpose. Having children gives women purpose. Lessons that should be taught not left to learning by experience. If left to experience, many don't learn it.

that's a pretty broad generalization. are you speaking of a specific culture?

It is broad because it applies to most humans throughout history regardless of culture.

having children creates responsibilities. it's not like men have responsibility and women don't. it's a false dichotomy about "purpose." that's what i meant by broad generalizations. lots of women don't want children and are quite happy.

This is a thread about suicide rates. The comment I responded to was specifically about older women committing suicide at a higher rate than younger women.

People need to feel like their life has meaning and purpose. Those can be found many different ways. However, having and raising a family is one way the majority of people in the world find meaning and purpose. My phrasing was purposeful.

The leading cause of suicide is depression. Childless women are 46% more likely to be depressed. Women are twice as likely to have depression than men. So, that puts childless women at a significantly higher risk of suicide than childless men. Men seem to have more paths to find purpose in life than having a family.

That said, having a family for both men and women is more likely to give both meaning and purpose to their lives. It also gives them both opportunity to not be lonely later in life.

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