Citation

Alsaleh A. Afr. Asian Stud. 2014; 13(3): 272-290.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Brill Academic Publishers)

DOI

10.1163/15692108-12341299

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The current study examines the impact of community structural instability on the suicidal behaviors of the indigenous community of the Bedoon in Kuwait. I hypothesize that the Bedoon's lack of documentation and limited opportunities in Kuwait, combined with community structural instability, increase suicide ideation and attempts. The contextual influence of community structural instability should be mediated by weak attachments to social norms and values (anomie) and by contact with suicidal others (attempt and ideation). The data, coming from a survey of 2,583 Bedoon adolescents between 14 and 18 years old, indicate that the community level of residential mobility has a positive, contextual effect on Bedoon suicidal behavior. The findings also indicate that the contextual effect of residential mobility is mediated by both anomie and attempt and ideation and offer the possibility of identifying communities that carry a substantial risk for adolescent suicide as well as the mechanisms that mediate the influence of community structural characteristics on Bedoon adolescent risk behavior. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Language: en

Keywords

suicide; indigenous population; social behavior; adolescent suicide; Bedoon; community instability; indigenous peoples; Kuwait [Middle East]; residential mobility; risk perception