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Objective -To examine the quality ofsocial support among unemployed residents in Trent, England. Design -Secondary analysis of data generated by those ofworking age drawn from a postal lifestyle survey of the adult population of Trent region. Subjects and setting -Subjects were 6987 individuals (males 16-64 years and females 16-59 years of age), of whom 9.90% (6891 6987) were unemployed. Main outcome measures -Responses about the quality of social support obtained from three key questions. Results -Generally, the unemployed reported poorer quality of social support than employed persons ( p<0.0001 ) on all three key elements examined: 31% v 17% respectively had no practical support; 19% v 10% had no help with solving problems, and 21% v 10% had no emotional support. Only 57% of the unemployed had all three of these elements compared with 75% of the employed. Unemployment and lack of social support had independent and deleterious effects on perceptions of general health and mental health. Relationships remained after allowing for the possible confounding effects of age, gender, and household composition. Conclusions -There is a relationship between unemployment and poorer quality ofsocial support which may help to explain some ofthe increased morbidity and mortality experienced by this group, especially that related to mental health.

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U.S. patterns of suicidal behavior associated with age, gender, and ethnicity provide profound evidence that cultural factors are associated with risk and protective factors for suicidal behavior. In response to the need to enhance the understanding of the phenomenology of suicidal behavior among U.S. ethnic minority populations, the NIH Office of Rare Diseases, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Indian Health Service, the Adolescent Risk Communication Institute of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, and the Emerging Scholars Interdisciplinary Network (ESIN) co-sponsored a workshop entitled "Pragmatic Considerations of Culture in Preventing Suicide" (NIMH, 2004). The workshop was held at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania on September 9-10, 2004. The ESIN study group on African American suicide, comprised of young investigators, brought to the meeting their interests in the development of new models of suicidal behavior risk and protection for U.S. populations of color and related implications for research training needs.The purpose of the meeting was to examine how culture can be considered in research design, development, and implementation of suicidal behavior prevention programs. This workshop examined the role of culture on suicidal behaviors. Culture is defined as self and community identity, community norms, and behavioral practices, and its affect on how individuals engage in behavior linked to life or death outcomes. As noted by Corin (1996), cultural beliefs and practices "force themselves on individuals" who then interpret, negotiate, and subvert them "through daily practice." Suicidal behavior, like all other behavior, is influenced by culture. Cultural influences are revealed in the choice of methods, the characteristics of the typical suicidal person and precipitating events, and the conflicts and emotions attributed as causes of the suicidal behavior in each community. In other words, cultures influence the risk for suicidal behavior by defining the meanings and consequences of different kinds of suicidal behaviors (Canetto & Lester, 1998).In this section, we present three promising, culturally-based research models which highlight theories of risk and protective factors for youth suicidality interventions among African American, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian communities.This series of articles emerged as a product of the workshop on the prevention of youth suicidal behavior and early research efforts delving into the general understanding of the role of culture, ethnicity, and youth suicidal behaviors. Recognizing that this field is in an early stage of development, approaches to theory, measurement selection, and intervention development for each of the three studies will be presented with regard to their strengths and opportunities for further development. Each intervention model focuses on suicide risk in youth and addresses culture in diverse ways.NIH Public Access