Citation

van Bergen DD, van Balkom AJLM, Smit JH, Saharso S. Transcult. Psychiatry 2012; 49(1): 69-86.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, McGill University, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1363461511427353

PMID

22194345

Abstract

Young immigrant women in the Netherlands demonstrate disproportionate rates of suicidal behavior. This study investigated the origins of suicidal behavior in South Asian-Surinamese, Turkish, and Moroccan immigrant young women in order to identify ethnic- and gender-specific patterns of suicidal behavior. Based on life story interviews of women who had been enrolled in mental health care, we constructed five typical patterns in which social, cultural, and personal factors were interconnected. Suicidal behavior was influenced by the ability and right to act autonomously with regard to strategic life choices, as well as by the questioning of cultural values of self-sacrifice and protection of honor.

Language: en

Keywords

Humans; Adult; Female; Adolescent; Culture; Emigrants and Immigrants; India; Suicidal Ideation; Suicide, Attempted; Turkey; Loneliness; Morocco; Netherlands; Personal Autonomy; Suriname; Role