Monica Caudillo, UMD Sociology

Presentation Title: Does Community Violence Lead to Higher Suicide Rates? The Case of Mexico

About the Presentation

Despite both homicide and suicide being identified as public health global concerns, the relationship between these social phenomena is not well understood. We use the case of Mexico, a country that experienced a dramatic increase in homicide after a shift in drug-enforcement policy in 2006, to evaluate the relationship between community violence and suicide. Our analysis relies on geo-linked death certificates microdata for the entire national territory to assess the association between homicide rates and suicide rates at the municipality level for the 2000-2019 period. We find evidence of positive associations between homicide rates and suicide within six months of exposure to high homicide levels, and especially in the period immediately after homicide spikes relative to the violence baseline in the previous three years. These surges in suicide are driven by auto-inflicted strangulation and firearm injuries. No changes in suicide were identified after more than six months of exposure to high homicide levels, or after sustained exposure to increasing homicides. Our results are consistent with violence spikes temporarily triggering suicide attempts among individuals with underlying suicidal ideation, possibly by causing acute fear, stress, and uncertainty in the period immediately surrounding drastic surges in violence.

About the Speaker

Mónica Caudillo is an Associate Professor in the Sociology Department at the University of Maryland, College Park. She holds a PhD in Sociology from New York University and specialize in domestic and international research in family demography, reproductive health, and maternal and infant health.
A large part of Caudillo's work focuses on the demographic and health consequences of disruptions to social contexts in the United States and Mexico, such as the opioid epidemic, the COVID-19 pandemic, and community violence.
 

Seminar Format

Location IN PERSON: 2208 LeFrak Hall. We are requesting advanced registration so that we can track capacity.  Please use this link to RSVP for in-person attendance.

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COVID-19 Information

MPRC public events for Fall 2025 will be a mix of in person and online via Zoom.  For in person events, all event attendees must follow current protocols