Resource Tag: CULTURAL PLURALISM

Background Whereas prevalence of suicidal expressions among young people is fairly similar in different countries, less is known about associated risk factors. This study compares young people in Nicaragua and Cambodia to examine if the pattern of association between mental health problems and suicidal expressions differs. Methods 368 and 316 secondary school students, from each […]

The goal of this article is to provide information on the assessment and treatment of South Asian college students for mental health practitioners. We provide a brief historical review of the cultures from which these students come and the process of migration to the United States and also make recommendations for work with these students […]

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This chapter reviews the great diversity of healing practices found around the world and represented in most urban centres. A general model of healing is presented that includes both the physiological processes central to biomedical theory and practice and the symbolic aspects of healing that have physiological, psychological and social effects. Work on the theory […]

The aim of this study was to identify anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation disparities among Chinese Americans and how immigration-related factors affected the outcomes. We tried to explain the differences as a function of the Chinese culture. Data were derived from the National Latino and Asian American Study, the first national epidemiological survey of these […]

This article discusses a school and community collaborative initiative that targeted students of Chinese descent as a suicide at-risk population. Its main focus was to reach out to immigrant parents to help them strengthen communication and relationships with their adolescent children and to facilitate theiraccess to mental health services in the community.Discussion focuses on implementation […]

The present study explores the life history of a South Korean adolescent girl who attempted suicide. The study focuses on how sociocultural values affected her suicide attempt and how she made meaning out of the experience. The results revealed that her life history was a process of seeking independence and autonomy, and freeing herself from […]

Cultural factors are often neglected in studies of suicidal behavior among emerging adults. The present study examined acculturative stress and perceived discrimination as statistical predictors of a suicide attempt history among an ethnically diverse sample of 969 emerging adults, ages 18-25 ( M = 18.8). Females made up 68% of the sample, and the racial/ethnic […]

Indigenous communities have significantly higher rates of suicide than non-Native communities in North America. Prevention and intervention efforts have failed to redress this disparity. One explanation is that these efforts are culturally incongruent for Native communities. Four prevalent assumptions that underpin professional suicide prevention may conflict with local indigenous understandings about suicide. Our experiences in […]

For an overwhelming majority of commentators, including many anthropologists, ÔJapanese cultureÕ is still associated with a positive view of suicide. Western-language writings have contributed by feedback loop to perpetuate this stereotype. Besides the local Ôsamurai ethicÕ, Japanese Buddhism is also said not to prohibit taking oneÕs life. However, the most popular examples of heroic self-sacrifice, […]

According to ethnographic material collected since 2003, the Chol Mayan indigenous people in southern Mexico have different causal explanations for suicide. It can be attributed to witchcraft that forces victims to take their lives against their own will, to excessive drinking, or to fate determined by God. However, it can also be conceived of as […]

This study compares youth (

The present study examined the factor structure of a Spanish-translated version of the Reasons for Living Inventory (SRFL-I; Oquendo, Baca-Garcia, Graver et al., 2000). Participants (N = 168) were from a combined sample of bilingual undergraduate students and monolingual Spanish speaking outpatients at a community health center. Factor analytic results yielded a seven factor structure: […]

In this study, we examined the relationship between familism and family environment type as well as the relationship between family environment type and suicide attempts among Latina youth. Latina teen attempters (n = 109) and nonattempters (n = 107) were recruited from the New York City area. Latent class analysis revealed three family environment types: […]

Studies on suicide rate in the elderly have shown vast differences in different regions. This review summarizes the literature on the elderly suicide trend in Chinese populations, namely China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, comparing these data to those in the USA and the UK.

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Suicidal ideation and attempts are highly prevalent among prisoners compared to the general community. Assessment of suicide risk is a critical task for mental health clinicians in prisons. Attention should be given to ensuring assessments are gender- and culturally sensitive. Indicators of mental illness may not be accurate predictors of suicide attempt. Indicators of childhood […]

More than a century after DurkheimÕs sociological classic placed the subject of suicide as a concern at the heart of social science, ethnographic, cross-cultural analyses of what lie behind peopleÕs attempts to take their own lives remain few in number. But by highlighting how the ethnographic method privileges a certain view of suicidal behaviour, we […]

This paper explores competing stories of suffering, frustration and anger that shape the performance and reception of suicidal behaviours in contemporary Sri Lanka. Drawing from the results of 21 months of ethnographic fieldwork, I show how suicidal acts fit within broader narratives of class and gender experience and expression that draw from contemporary and historical […]

As part of the first anthropological study on suicide in the modern Arab world, statistics gathered from the Ramallah region of the West Bank in Palestine painted an apparently remarkably similar picture to that found in Western countries such as the UK and France. More men than women completed suicide, more women than men attempted […]

The purpose of this guide is to support American Indian/Alaska Native communities & those who serve them in developing effective, culturally appropriate suicide prevention plans. The guide: 1) explores some of the cultural issues around prevention; 2) describes approaches that respectfully address these issues as part of prevention planning; & 3) provides practical tools & […]

These documents present the structure for the suicide prevention, intervention, & postvention initiative for the province of British Columbia. Content includes: an introduction to the initiative; towards the development of a framework & planning template; the evidence-informed practice review; the snapshot survey; stakeholder survey for suicide prevention, intervention & postvention; the Suicide PIP Framework & […]

The importance of positive youth development cannot be overstated. We strive to foster healthy mental/emotional, social, spiritual and physical development in our children. Alarmingly high Aboriginal youth suicide rates in some areas call for an increased understanding of how protective factors and risk-taking behaviours influence youth development. This may help us develop strategies to increase […]