Citation

Canetto SS, Lester D. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 1995; 25(1): 58-69.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins 80523, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

7631375

Abstract

Primary prevention aims at reducing the incidence of a disorder. The first step in primary prevention involves documenting the magnitude of the problem and identifying risk factors. Consistent with primary prevention practices, we review the national and international epidemiological data on suicide mortality and then discuss the implications these data hold for primary prevention. Our approach is novel because we systematically examine the suicide epidemiology data by gender and culture. Suicide mortality appears to be highest among individuals (e.g., young adult married females in some Papua New Guinea regions; older adult, isolated, White males in the United States) for whom such behavior is culturally sanctioned. Thus, an important target for primary prevention may be local cultures of gender and suicide.