Cultural aspects of suicide

Gwendolyn Portzky; Kees van Heeringen

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511543609.036

34 - Cultural aspects of suicide

from Part IV - Theoretical aspects of management

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 August 2009

Gwendolyn Portzky and

Kees van Heeringen

Edited by

Dinesh Bhugra and

Kamaldeep Bhui

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Gwendolyn Portzky: Affiliation:
Unit for Suicide Research Department of Psychiatry Ghent University De Pintelaan 185 9000 Gent Belgium
Kees van Heeringen: Affiliation:
Unit for Suicide Research Department of Psychiatry Ghent University De Pintelaan 185 9000 Gent Belgium
Dinesh Bhugra: Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, London
Kamaldeep Bhui: Affiliation:
Barts & The London, Queen Mary School of Medicine and Dentistry

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Summary

EDITORS' INTRODUCTION

The two chapters on suicidal behaviour in this volume are complementary and offer different perspectives on the subject. Portzky and van Heeringen provide a continental European overview of suicidal behaviour. This is an important facet in this book, in that by and large the ethnicity of people is white and yet there is an enormous variation in the rates of suicide and suicidal behaviour. The variation in the rates in Eastern Europe itself and in comparison with the rates in Western Europe is striking. The authors emphasize that the method of suicide is dictated by cultural factors and the changes within specific cultures are influenced by a number of social factors. The risk factors for males include less adaptive stress response, such as avoidance, denial, distraction and alcohol. In addition, emotional isolation and less social integration may play a role. Another risk factor which must be taken into account is social status. Cultural patterns of suicidal behaviour include strong social integration. Role of family and marriage, collectivist nature of societies, religion, differences in depression and associated different attitudes to help seeking are beginning to emerge as significant factors. The nature of the culture will also contribute to rates of self-harm. Social regulation rather than legal regulation, family and kinship networks, coping strategies which are accepted by the culture will need to be investigated further in order to determine their exact contribution to suicidal behaviour.

Type: Chapter
Information: Textbook of Cultural Psychiatry , pp. 445 - 458

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511543609.036 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2007

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