Understanding why different nations have different homicide and suicide rates has been of interest to scholars, policy makers and the general public for years. Multiple theories have been offered, related to the economy, presence of guns and even exposure to violence in video games. In the current study, several factors were considered in combination across a sample of 92 countries. These included income inequality (Gini index), Human Capital Index (education and employment), per capita gun ownership and per capita expenditure on video games. Results suggest that economic factors primarily were related to homicide and suicide cross-nationally. Video game consumption was not a major indicative factor (other than a small negative relationship with homicides). More surprisingly, per capita gun ownership was not an indicator factor cross-nationally. The results suggest that a focus on economic factors and income inequality are most likely to bear fruit regarding reduction of violence and suicide.

中文翻译：

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跨国调查凶杀和自杀：经济因素、枪支和电子游戏

多年来，学者、政策制定者和公众一直对了解为什么不同国家有不同的凶杀率和自杀率感兴趣。已经提出了多种理论，与经济、枪支的存在甚至电子游戏中的暴力有关。在当前的研究中，在 92 个国家的样本中综合考虑了几个因素。其中包括收入不平等（基尼指数）、人力资本指数（教育和就业）、人均枪支拥有量和人均电子游戏支出。结果表明，经济因素主要与跨国凶杀和自杀有关。电子游戏消费不是主要的指示性因素（除了与凶杀案有很小的负相关关系）。更令人惊讶的是，人均枪支拥有量并不是跨国的指标因素。