7 - Cross-cultural variation in child and adolescent suicide

Summary

Introduction

This chapter endeavors to explore the relationship between cultural influences and child and adolescent suicide in several empirical ways. The World Health Organization (WHO) figures for suicides in young people worldwide are reviewed. In doing so, we will examine the influence of cultural factors, using the work of Ronald Inglehart (1990, 1997) to divide by “type” the countries for which youth suicide rates are available. Inglehart (1997) employs the World Values Surveys (World Values Study Group, 1994) to “explore the hypothesis that mass belief systems are changing in ways that have important economic, political, and social consequences.” Finally, the suicide rates of children as well as younger and older adolescents will be examined in one country, the Republic of Ireland, that has recently experienced a considerable change in suicide rates, in order to examine the explanatory power of cultural interpretations.

Cultural sources of international epidemiological differences

A cultural explanation may be sought for international differences in the rates of child and adolescent suicide, as returned to the WHO. Cultural factors may also explain further differences, including the ratio of male to female suicide rates and differences in the methods used. Analysis of international variation in adolescent suicide rates is confounded by inconsistent recording practices, but this inconsistency in itself reflects social and cultural influences. For example, a study of the member countries of The International Association for Suicide Prevention found that the countries with religious sanctions against suicide returned lower suicide rates to the WHO and, indeed, the countries with religious sanctions were more likely not to return any rates of suicide at all (Kelleher et al., 1998a).