Rates of suicidal behavior among immigrants and ethnic minorities in Europe

Résumé

Suicide attempts are among the strongest predictors for suicide. The average overall suicide rate in Europe has been estimated to be 13.9 per 100,000 persons, varying largely between countries. In recent decades, various studies in Europe reported increased rates for suicidal behavior in immigrant and ethnic minority groups. Most of these studies examined suicidal behavior in non-European immigrants with a long history of migration in the respective countries, such as South Asians in the UK, Moroccans in The Netherlands, or Turks in Germany and Switzerland. Overall, studies found that non-European immigrant women and ethnic minority women aged 25 years or younger have an increased risk for suicide attempts. Data on the overall situation in Europe are scarce, but the existing data suggest that immigrant women have a more than twofold increased rate of suicide attempts than their male counterparts, and that immigrants have higher rates than the majority population. An analysis of the data from the WHO/EURO Multicentre Study on Suicidal Behaviour showed that 27 of 56 immigrant groups have higher suicide attempt rates than the host population. Furthermore, Bursztein Lipsicas et al. report that in 14 out of 19 immigrant groups, suicide attempt rates paralleled the suicide rates in their country of origin. However, immigrants from Chile, Iran, and Turkey showed high suicide attempt rates in the host countries despite low suicide rates in the country of origin. In general, these studies indicate that various immigrant and ethnic minority groups in Europe are at a heightened risk for suicidal behavior. Besides examining probable underlying causes and mechanisms, it is important to understand the extent of the problem throughout Europe. Thus, the objective of this chapter is to provide an overview of major studies on prevalence and incidence data of suicidal behavior among immigrant and minority groups in Europe in the past five decades. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved) ALLEMAGNE DANEMARK PAYS-BAS ROYAUME-UNI SUISSE SUÈDE EUROPE GENRE HOMME FEMME TENTATIVE SUICIDE-COMPLÉTÉ IMMIGRANT IMMIGRATION ÉPIDÉMIOLOGIE-INTERNATIONALE PRÉVALENCE TENDANCE COMMUNAUTÉ