For the Japanese, seppuku is a viable method for avoiding any kind of dishonor, and is accepted as a responsible way to deal with one's personal or public failings. In India, many widows have for centuries engaged in suttee, the practice of burning themselves on their husband's funeral pyre as a public expression of grief. It has been that way in recorded history since the early middle ages, with criminal and social penalties for anyone who attempts or commits suicide. In modern U.S. culture, as in the past, people kill themselves. The suicide rate of the general population in the United States is moderate in comparison with other countries, at about 12 per 100,000.
Suicide happens frequently in all age, race, and economic groups.
It does not confine itself to gender or to belief system. Every segment of U.S. culture is capable of producing individuals who will decide to kill themselves. However, certain groups are more likely to commit suicide. Women make more nonfatal suicide attempts than do men. And, although people below the age of 25 are more commonly thought of as the highest risk group for suicide, this is only an affectation of media attention.