Introduction

Résumé

This book has five themes and is divided accordingly. The first theme addressed is the investigation of the rates of suicidal behavior among immigrant and minority groups in Europe. The main question asked is whether immigrants and ethnic minorities in Europe demonstrate suicidal behavior more often than native populations in their host countries. Considering the tremendous diversity among immigrants and minorities, it is important to differentiate between ethnicities or cultures and their suicide risk as much as possible. Therefore, a critical matter is the disentanglement of which immigrant groups in Europe are at increased risk for suicidal behavior and which are not. Furthermore, it is essential to investigate whether women and men, as well as whether different age groups, have different rates and risk factors. After defining high-risk groups, the next important step is to understand the relationship between suicidal behavior of immigrants and ethnic minorities from within a risk factor paradigm, which is the second theme of the book. Considering that most risk factor theory in fact represents findings of native populations, culturally relevant risk factors need to be established in order to avoid the (biased) assumption that similar risk factors exist cross-culturally. Hence, the next question that is addressed is what knowledge we have about ecological, psychological, and psychiatric factors that influence suicidal behavior of immigrants and ethnic minorities. A third theme consists of an explicit focus on a number of high-risk groups. A fourth theme in this book is the role of culture for suicidal behavior. Ethnocultural groups have specific sociocultural features and patterns according to their moralities, that is, their norms and values. The final topic in the field of immigrants, minorities, and suicide addressed in this book is the translation of epidemiology, theory, and risk factors to solid prevention and treatment, since this bears a high societal urgency. This section emphasizes the need to accumulate knowledge that can be used for the development of preventive measures sensitive to the needs of suicidal individuals of immigrant and minority background. In order to help health-care workers and professionals work successfully with suicidal patients belonging to minority groups, there is a need for prevention programs that, for instance, include the cultural meaning systems of those groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved) EUROPE IMMIGRANT IMMIGRATION ETHNICITÉ SUICIDOLOGIE COMMUNAUTÉ