Year: 1987 Source: 28p. SIEC No: 20020257

It is generally accepted that suicide occurs more often among American Indian adolescents than among adolescents in the nonIndian population. An extensive literature search was made to assess the data supporting this contention. 7 statistical presentations of Indian adolescent suicide were found. Data cited in these studies tended to be discrepant, mainly due to lack of consensus on the population based used to estimate the rate of suicides among native Americans. While aggregate Indian suicide rates exceed those for nonIndians, there is suggestive evidence that Indian suicide rates may reflect the trend in adjacent nonIndian communities. Making this comparison or comparing demographically similar populations would provide more relevant data than using comparisons to suicide rates in the general US population & would be preferable for purposes of program implementation. (25 refs.)