section_path: Risk factors/Psychosocial factors
section_name: Psychosocial factors
paragraph_text: Psychosocial factors
  
  A number of psychological factors increase the risk of suicide including: hopelessness, loss of pleasure in life, depression, anxiousness, agitation, rigid thinking, rumination, thought suppression, and poor coping skills. A poor ability to solve problems, the loss of abilities one used to have, and poor impulse control also play a role. In older adults, the perception of being a burden to others is important. Those who have never married are also at greater risk. Recent life stresses, such as a loss of a family member or friend or the loss of a job, might be a contributing factor.
  
  Certain personality factors, especially high levels of neuroticism and introvertedness, have been associated with suicide. This might lead to people who are isolated and sensitive to distress to be more likely to attempt suicide. On the other hand, optimism has been shown to have a protective effect. Other psychological risk factors include having few reasons for living and feeling trapped in a stressful situation. Changes to the stress response system in the brain might be altered during suicidal states. Specifically, changes in the polyamine system and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis.
  
  Social isolation and the lack of social support has been associated with an increased risk of suicide. Poverty is also a factor, with heightened relative poverty compared to those around a person increasing suicide risk. Over 200,000 farmers in India have died by suicide since 1997, partly due to issues of debt. In China, suicide is three times as likely in rural regions as urban ones, partly, it is believed, due to financial difficulties in this area of the country.
  
  Being religious may reduce one's risk of suicide while beliefs that suicide is noble may increase it. This has been attributed to the negative stance many religions take against suicide and to the greater connectedness religion may give. Muslims, among religious people, appear to have a lower rate of suicide; however, the data supporting this is not strong. There does not appear to be a difference in rates of attempted suicide. Young women in the Middle East may have higher rates.