Deaths of Despair and the Decline of American Religion
研究发现美国自1990年代初以来自杀、药物中毒和酒精性肝病导致的“绝望之死”死亡率上升，这与宗教参与度下降有关，且主要影响中年白人群体。
Abstract In recent decades, death rates from suicides, drug poisonings, and alcoholic liver disease have dramatically increased in the United States. We show that these “deaths of despair” began to increase relative to the trend in the early 1990s, that this increase was preceded by a decline in religious participation, and that both trends were driven by middle-aged white Americans. Using repeals of blue laws, we find that a shock to religious participation has significant effects on these mortality rates. Our findings show that social factors such as organized religion can play an important role in understanding deaths of despair.