![]() Perhaps buoyed by the increase in daylight and warmer temperatures, researchers (Koskinen et al., 2002) found that outdoor workers were far more likely to commit suicide in the spring months than during the winter months. While springtime may be the season of hope for many, it’s the season of hopeless for those who are depressed. Suicides peak during the spring & summer. For instance, researcher Marie Connolly (2013) found that women who were interviewed on days “with more rain and higher temperatures statistically and substantively decreasing life satisfaction, consistent with the affect results.” On days with lower temperatures and no rain, the same subjects reported higher life satisfaction. Other research has confirmed this finding. It’s not at all clear that weather causes these things to happen. However, this research could only show a correlation between the two. The more it rained (especially in areas where high rainfall is not expected), the more aggressive people seemed to get. These findings held true not only for higher temperatures, but also that wet stuff that falls from the sky - rain. The scientists also found interpersonal violence rose by 4 percent. As temperatures rose, the researchers noted that intergroup conflicts also tended to jump - by 14 percent (a significant increase). (2013) found a link between human aggression and higher temperatures. Heat (and extreme rain) brings out the worst in people. While we most commonly think of SAD affecting only people in the fall or winter months, a minority of people also experience SAD during the spring and summer months too. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a very real kind of depressive disorder (technically referred to as a depressive disorder with seasonal pattern) wherein a person’s major depressive episode is connected to a specific season. Furthermore, researchers found no significant effect on weather improving a person’s positive mood. The overall effects found by this study were small, however.
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