Violent Death in Alaska: Who Is Most Likely To Die?

Abstract

Alaskans die by accident and commit suicide far more often than the national averages. They die in homicides at near the national rate. But when you look beyond the averages, it’s plain that some Alaskans are at much higher risk than others. This Review describes how rates of violent death—by which we mean deaths from accidents, suicides, and homicides—vary among Alaskans by race, sex, age, marital status, and place of residence. Differences in age and other factors don’t explain all the variation, but they give us a start in better understanding why violent death strikes some groups and places much more than others. The detailed analysis that follows is based on a computer file—provided by the Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics—of death certificates of Alaskans who died between 1980 and 1990. This file includes recently revised statistics analyzed here for the first time. We calculated average death rates for that 11-year period, allowing us to see trends and to feel confident that rates for small towns don’t just reflect unusual circumstances in a single year.