This morning USA Today ran a story about new research soon to be published in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology debunking some popular myths about suicide.

USA Today reports:

Common beliefs about suicide being more likely on Mondays and during the winter aren’t really true, according to new research from the University of California, Riverside — summer is the most common season and Wednesday the most likely day. [The study is co-authored by sociology professor Augustine Kposowa.]

July and August are the most common months for suicide, followed by April and May, finds the analysis… The researchers found that 24.6% of suicides were on Wednesdays, with Thursdays the least likely day at just 11.1%.

Kposowa elaborates:

Kposowa says the common wisdom used to be that suicides were more likely on Mondays because the weekend had ended; however, he says Wednesday is right in the middle of the work week when stress is highest and the weekend is still farther away.

“Thursday is lowest because usually people are in better moods because the weekend is near,” he says.

He also says the folklore about more suicides in winter never really was true because much past research has shown that suicide was more likely in the spring.

Read more.