TY  - JOUR
AU  - Markowitz,Sara
AU  - Chatterji,Pinka
AU  - Kaestner,Robert
AU  - Dave,Dhaval
TI  - Substance Use and Suicidal Behaviors Among Young Adults
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 8810
PY  - 2002
Y2  - February 2002
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8810
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w8810.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Sara Markowitz
Department of Economics
Emory University
1602 Fishburne Dr.
Atlanta, GA 30322
Tel: (404) 712-8167
E-Mail: sara.markowitz@emory.edu

Pinka Chatterji
State University of New York at Albany
Economics Department
1400 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY  12222
Tel: 518/442-4746
E-Mail: pchatterji@albany.edu

Robert Kaestner
Institute of Government and Public Affairs
University of Illinois
815 West Van Buren Street, Suite 525
Chicago, IL  60607
Tel: 312/996-8227
E-Mail: kaestner.robert@gmail.com

Dhaval M. Dave
Bentley University
Department of Economics
175 Forest Street, AAC 195
Waltham, MA 02452-4705
Tel: 212/817-7955
Fax: 212/817-1597
E-Mail: ddave@bentley.edu
M2  - featured in NBER digest on 2002-08-01
AB  - The purpose of this paper is to examine the causal impact of alcohol and illicit drug use on suicidal behaviors among college students. Every year, more American youth die from suicide than from all leading natural causes of death combined. Substance use has been identified as a leading risk factor in suicidal behaviors. We use instrumental variables to estimate a structural model of suicidal thoughts and attempts. A reduced form equation is also estimated which directly relates the determinants of alcohol and drug use to suicidal behaviors. Data come from the Core Institute's Alcohol and Drug Surveys of College Students. The results are consistent with a causal mechanism from alcohol and illicit drug consumption to suicide thoughts and attempts.
ER  -