Introduction
Suicide is a challenging event that effects an individual’s assumption about the value and meaning to life. In recent years, Aboriginal people throughout Canada have had a higher suicide rate than the general population. “The overall Canadian rate has declined, while in some Aboriginal communities and population, rates have continued to rise for the last two decades” (Andersson, 2011). Suicide is especially predominate in Aboriginal youth. From the ages of ten to twenty-nine, Aboriginal youth are five to six times more likely to commit suicide than youth in the general population. Furthermore, over one-third of the deaths among Aboriginal youth are due to suicide. The aim of this paper is to review available research literature in order to gain a better understanding into the factors associated with the increased raise in suicide throughout the Aboriginal youth population.
PUBMED and MEDLINE were the two electronic databases that were used for this literature review. A search was conducted on both databases for articles ranging from January 2010 to January 2016. The specific key words searched for were “aboriginal youth suicide” and “Canadian aboriginal youth”, “Canadian aboriginal youth suicide”. These articles were full length articles published in English only. The designs of the studies that were used were clinical studies, cross-sectional studies, longitudinal studies and a systematic review.
Literature Review
Bennett et al (2015) conducted a systematic review in order to create a youth suicide prevention plan for Canada. In Canada, approximately 8 percent of youth are expected to attempt suicide each year. MacNeil (2008) found that Aboriginal adolescents are more linked to suicide because Aboriginal suicide is different than the general population. “The rates are higher than in other age groups and Canadian Aboriginal youth have the highest rate of suicide than any other identified culture in the world” (p. 4). According to studies aimed at suicide amongst Canadian Aboriginal youth, Aboriginal youth suicide has a unique political and social context. However, the reasoning behind these suicides are still unclear in this study.
Andersson (2011) found several factors associated with the increased risk of suicide among Canadian Aboriginal youth. This was a fourteen year longitudinal study that was aimed at assessing the factors associated with the increase risk of suicide among this group of individuals. The study used a combination of questionnaires and standard instruments of a local design. The results of this study showed that parental support and care, as well as parental monitoring and attitudes effect an individual when it comes to self-esteem and low distress within an individual. Since both of these factors are associated with suicide, Andersson believes that parental support and care are two of the most important factors when attempting to decrease the suicide rates amongst Aboriginal youth (p. 65).
Chandler (2006) found evidence that persistent people and people with personally persistence have a low rate of youth suicides. The aim of the study was to explore the relationship between self-and cultural continuity and “suicidal behaviors in both culturally mainstream and Canadian Aboriginal youth” (p. 125). The results showed that individuals within a community generally tend to be less at risk for suicide than individuals who do not live in a community. Further studies should be conducted in order to assess the factors that are associated with Aboriginal youth and suicide rates amongst individuals living on reservations versus living off reservations.
Luke et al. (2013) conducted a cross-sectional study in order to assess the factors contributing to the emerging issue of youth suicide among the Aboriginal youth population. This study took a sample of Aboriginal youth from Melbourne as assessed them with health questionnaires and health checks. These questionnaires covered: education, abuse, employment, family, friends, and community connectedness. They also covered general health status, such as emotional and social determinants of heath. They also asked questions directly related to suicide. For example, one questionnaire asked “In the last two weeks, have you have thoughts of suicide?” Furthermore, other social, cultural, biological and emotional exposure variables were collected by self-report. Depression was determined “using an amended version of the Personal Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)” (Luke et al, 2013). This study found that individuals who experience high levels of social and emotional distress were more likely to have suicidal thoughts and attempts than other youth. Further studies should be conducted to assess the social, behavioral and emotional factors of the cultural that may impact the suicide rate among Aboriginal youth.
Sevearl studies have been conducted in order to determine whether the relation between mental health, substances abuse, and suicide rates amongst Aboriginal youth. Ames et al. (2015) was a clinical study aimed to assess the factors related with the mental health status of Canadian Aboriginal youth. “The mental health of Aboriginal youth is a global concern among practitioners, educators, and Aboriginal communities” (p. 142). The mental health of Aboriginal youth tend to be worse when compared to the non-aboriginal peers. Furthermore, Aboriginal youth are disproportionate when it comes to the risk for misusing substances compared to their non-aboriginal peers. This is especially true for alcohol.
Rawana et al. (2012) conducted a cross-sectional study using secondary data from the Statistics Canada’s National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. “The NLSCY is a longitudinal, comprehensive study of Canadian children that includes data from multiple domains of development gathered from birth to early adulthood, based on a large representative, community sample” (p. 232). By using the data form the longitudinal study, the researchers were able to compare different samples at specific moments in time in order to discover which groups are more at risk for different mental health issues. The researchers found that Aboriginal youth are also at a disproportionate risk when it comes to alcohol problems. Evidence showed that there is a high prevalence when it comes to drugs and alcohol among Aboriginal youth compared to non-Aboriginal youth. This study also showed that Aboriginal youth are more likely to experiment with substances are an earlier age than their non-Aboriginal counterparts (p. 231).
Furthermore, there is a difference between Aboriginal youth living on a reservation versus Aboriginal youth living off a reservation. According to one survey, “not only are Aboriginals living on-reserve 43 percent more likely to report good health status compared to those living off-reserve, but they are also less likely to consume alcohol (rates of drinking more than two drinks per day: 8 percent on-reserve versus 12 percent off-reserve)” (Rawana et al., 2012). However, little studies have been conducted as to why there is a difference between youth living on or off a reservation. Further studies should be conducted in order to assess the differences amongst Aboriginal youth living on-reserve and Aboriginal youth living off-reserve (p. 231).
Conclusion
Canadian Aboriginal youth are at a greater risk when it comes to suicide than the rest of the general population. Several studies have been conducted in order to assess the factors related to the high suicide rates amongst this population. It is believed that parental support and emotional distress have a direct impact on the increased rate of suicide. Further studies should be conducted in order to assess the difference amongst Aboriginal youth living on reservations versus living off reservations.
References
Ames et al. (2015). The protective role of optimism and self-esteem on depressive symptom pathways among Canadian Aboriginal youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(1), 142-154.
Andersson, N. (2011). The CIET Aboriginal youth resilience studies: 14 years of capacity building and methods development in Canada. Pimatisiwin, 6(2), 65-88.
Bennet et al (2015). A youth suicide prevention plan for Canada: a systematic review of reviews. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 60(6), 245-257.
Chandler, M. (2006). Changing sleeves in changing worlds: youth suicide on the fault-lines of colliding cultures. Archives of Suicide Research: Official Journal of the International Academy for Suicide Research, 10(2), 125-140.
Luke et al. (2013). Suicide ideation and attempt in a community cohort of urban Aboriginal youth: a cross-sectional study. Crisis, 34(4).
MacNeil, M. (2008). An epidemiologic study of Aboriginal adolescent risk in Canada: the meaning of suicide. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 21(1), 3-12.
Rawana et al. (2012). Protective predictors of alcohol use trajectories among Canadian Aboriginal youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41, 229-243.
