Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

Advisor

Jeannette Manger

Abstract

Suicide rates in Montana, Iowa, Ohio, and New Jersey vary strongly and encompass the wide range seen across all fifty states in America. Previous research has told us that there is a significant relationship between Alcohol Use Disorder and the ideation, attempt, and completion of suicide. Additionally, most people who are victims of suicide suffer from mental disorders. People use alcohol to cope with mental health and alcohol leads to deteriorating and adverse outcomes in a person’s life. To attempt to better understand the relationship between these variables and why suicide rates differ so widely, an analysis of binge drinking, mentally unhealthy days, and suicide was performed using data from the counties in these states using data from County Health Rankings in 2016 and 2023. We performed a paired t-test to determine that the number of mentally unhealthy days significantly increased in Montana counties from 2016 (3.366) to 2023 (4.425) (t = -32.671, p < .001). Using an ANOVA, binge drinking rates by counties between Montana, Iowa, Ohio, and New Jersey in 2023 were seen to significantly differ (F3,260 = 294.271, p < .001). Montana and Iowa had a significantly higher rate of binge drinking (24.48%, 23.95%) than the other states tested, and Ohio and New Jersey had a significantly lower rate of binge drinking (19.00%, 20.15%) than the other states tested. Using an ANOVA once more, suicide rates by counties between Montana, Iowa, Ohio, and New Jersey in 2023 were seen to be significantly different (F3,198 = 88.755, p < .001). Montana had a significantly higher rate of suicide (31.26) than the other states tested, and New Jersey had a significantly lower rate of suicide (8.58) than the other states tested. Through a Pearson correlation, we found that in Ohio in 2023, as the average number of mentally unhealthy days changed, the percentage of excessive drinking weakly and negatively correlated (r = -.346, p < .001). Through an unpaired t-test, the percentage of mentally unhealthy days between Montana (4.43%) and New Jersey (4.46%) counties in 2023 was not seen to be significantly different (t = -.428 p = .670) but the percentage of suicides between Montana (31.26%) and New Jersey (8.85%) counties in 2023 were seen to be significantly different (t = 10.775 p = < .001).

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