Suicide and Homicide among Native Americans: The Medical Resources Hypothesis

Several studies have reported negative correlations for medical resources and homicide rates among general populations in the United States. Another study, however, found that, for fifteen Western European nations, suicide and homicide rates increased as medical resources improved. The present study found strong, positive correlations for the number of available hospital beds per 100,000 population and suicide and homicide rates among United States Indian Health Service (IHS) areas, raising additional cross-cultural questions about the medical resources hypothesis. For many years, scholars have tried to explain the differential distribution of suicide and homicide rates. Culturalists tend to point to underlying normative value systems, while structuralists focus on poverty and inequality. Research from these two approaches has produced contradictory findings. Recently, it has been suggested that culturalists and structuralists have overlooked factors involved in the production of suicide and homicide rates. Several studies suggest that appropriate medical resources influence mortality rates and may prevent borderline cases from becoming suicide and homicide statistic. By assuming that victims die solely because they have sustained a wound, culturalists and structuralists may have failed to consider the role of available medical resources