Citation

Lester D. World cultural psychiatry research review 2008; 3(2): 51-68.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The impact of culture on suicide, both at the aggregate level and the individual level, is discussed. The deleterious impact of a changing culture, especially for native and aboriginal groups, is noted, and the assumption of the cultural invariability of suicidal phenomena questioned. The implications of cultural differences for counselling the suicidal client are explored. Culture provides a set of rules and standards that are shared by members of a society. These rules and standards shape and determine the range of appropriate behavior. Culture influences the behavior of nationalities, ethnic groups and subgroups within a nation. The aim of this paper is to present an overview of some of the topics and issues which are present in the interaction of suicide and culture. A major dichotomy here, of course, is the level of analysis. The interaction can be explored for the aggregate suicide rate of a culture and also for the individual suicide living in a particular society or culture. Let us first look at the interaction at the aggregate level.

Language: en