Suicide Among Canadian Aboriginal Peoples

• Published in: Transcultural Psychiatric Research Review
• Main Author: Kirmayer, Laurence J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publications 1994
• Subjects: inuit
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/136346159403100101; https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/136346159403100101

This paper reviews research on suicide and attempted suicide among Canadian Aboriginal peoples (Amer indians, Métis and Inuit). The demographic and cul tural diversity of the Aboriginal population is described and basic epidemiological data are summar ized. Social, cultural, and political economic factors that may contribute to suicide and culturally appropri ate interventions are reviewed. A model integrating social and psychiatric perspectives on suicide is presented. The high prevalence of suicide in this population indicates widespread social problems that demand community-based interventions and socio- political change in addition to the conventional psychiatric emphasis on individual psychopathology and family dynamics.