TITLE:
Do States with Professional Sports Teams Have Lower Suicide Rates?
AUTHORS:
Paul M. Sommers
KEYWORDS:
Professional Team Sports, Suicide Rates, U.S. States, 2-Sample t-Tests, Chi-Squared Test
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Statistics,
Vol.8 No.5,
September
12,
2018
ABSTRACT: The
author examines six age-group specific suicide rates in 2016 between states (in
the continental United States) with and without professional sports teams in
baseball [MLB], football [NFL], hockey [NHL], and basketball [NBA]. States with
at least one team in baseball or football have significantly lower suicide
rates among adults in all six age groups (over 20 years of age). States with at
least one hockey team have significantly lower suicide rates for all adults
over the age of 20, except the oldest age group (adults 65 years of age or
over). The results are weakest for states with at least one basketball team.
Adults only between 25 and 44 years of age and 65 years of age or over have
significantly lower suicide rates with at least one NBA team.