Citation

Choi S, Kim K. Int. Migr. 2020; 58(6): 232-246.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration [and] Research Group for European Migration Problems)

DOI

10.1111/imig.12709

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Despite the increasing number of studies that examine the link between immigration and suicide in Korean youths, most have focused on self-harming behaviours among adolescents in multicultural families, while much less attention has been directed towards those in North Korean (NK) refugee families. This paper addresses this gap by comparing three determinants of suicidal behaviours across three groups of Korean adolescents. Data are drawn from the KYRBS, a nationally representative sample of students in middle and high schools, and the results indicate that NK youths were 87.2 per cent more likely to have suicidal ideation than their South Korean peers, that they are 3.7 times more likely to experience suicidal plans and 4.1 times more likely to attempt suicide. These results clearly suggest that immigrant youths, including NK refugees, are confronting significant difficulties with assimilation, and those disadvantages lead to a higher propensity of self-threatening behaviours. © 2020 The Authors. International Migration © 2020 IOM

Language: en

Keywords

suicide; immigration; acculturation; refugee; South Korea; young population; multiculturalism