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[Quicunque]

Taremzon, "Fatedhelms", is a 15 year old fort with a current population of 187.
The population of the cemetery is about the same. Of the dead, about 150 were killed by tantruming fellow citizens over the course of the years. Only about 30 were killed by invading enemies, forgotten beasts, or overseer mishaps (atom smashing accidents).
Is this normal? A 5:1 ratio of dwarves killed by dwarves seems high to me, but I rarely have a fort make 15 years. Am I doing this wrong? Should I pay more attention to dwarven psychology? Or is 5:1 typical? Perhaps the fact that the whole population is militarized (in squads on a rotational basis), well armed & armored (steel weapons, leather armor) has something to do with the high dwarvicide rate? What say ye?

[Tinnucorch]

It seems managing dwarves psyche is right now harder than fighting invaders, yeah. I also have more deaths by tantrums and bar fights than I have deaths by invaders. But over ten years and with a population of above 200 I have now about 2-3 dozens (at most) of dead dwarves, but I carefully select who I am giving a weapon to (no stressed dwarves, no anger prone, no fearful...), so after a tantrum I usually have half a dozen or less dwarfs injured -deaths happens, but are not common.

Also, you can stop the tantrum if you convict the culprit as soon as the first crime is reported so one member of the militia guard will come and arrest that dwarf -stopping the tantrum in the process.

I'm surprised that with that many deaths your entire hasn't succumbed to insanity.

[Shonai_Dweller]

Depends entirely on how you play.
I sometimes like setting up the military and defenses just poorly enough to scrape a near victory against invaders. Graveyard gets pretty big in fortresses that manage to last a few years.

Close the drawbridge, ignore the caverns, exile anyone that gets haggard from stress and you'll see a much lower death rate.

[Saiko Kila]

Am I doing this wrong?

Probably not. It's up to the playstyle definitely. But it is possible to not have a single tantrum in 15 years... At least from actual citizens, I don't care too much about the visitors cramped in their tavern. If they break something, the have to pay for it.

I do have several squads (not all dwarves,  40-50 out of 250), but they are well trained (as a squad) before I allow them to face even a single foe. New recruits (replacements usually) are assigned to squads with high experience and morale, so if they fumble during fight, they are covered by their mates. The only people I see in haggard condition are invaders. It's particularly satisfying if I drive the returning invaders (who often have high skills and ignore all traps) to insanity. But own dwarves? They are protected and cared for.

It's hard to tell how many of dead in the cemetery are my own, because all members of master civilisation are treated as citizens for purpose of burial, including visiting drunkards. But most of my own die of old age, apparently.

Note that since hillocks upgrade you can send the vulnerable dwarves to... sanatorium, along with their family. This way you protect both them and the rest of the fort.