Psychological and social indicators of suicide ideation and suicide attempts in Zuni adolescents.

Abstract

Suicide behavior is a significant problem for many American Indian populations, often more so than in the general population, but little tribal-specific data available. In this study, baseline data on the correlates of suicide ideation and the social and psychological differences between suicide attempters and nonattempters were collected on a sample of 84 Zuni adolescents. Results show significant correlations between a measure of suicide ideation and past suicide attempt behavior, drug use, depression, hopelessness, stress, psychological symptomatology, social support, liking for school, and interpersonal communication. Significant differences between the 30% of the students who reported having previously attempted suicide and the nonattempters were also found on these measures. Areas for education and prevention efforts are suggested.

Suicide Attempts Among American Indian and Alaska Native Youth

“…10,16,17 Some of the same risk factors for suicide attempts among adolescents in the general population have been found for American Indian and Alaska Native youth populations. 5,6,10 The high rates of suicide among American Indian and Alaska Native youth warrant further study to identify modifiable factors and culturally appropriate interventions that can successfully nurture resilience in this high-risk population. The purpose of this study was to identify risk and protective factors for suicide attempts in a large sample of American Indian and Alaska Native youth living in reservation communities.…”

“…2 Furthermore, it is estimated that more than 40% of adolescents who complete suicide have made previous attempts, and attempters are 20 to 50 times more likely to complete suicide than peers without a history of attempts. 3,4 Suicide attempts have been shown to be associated with depression, [5][6][7][8] substance use, [9][10][11] loss of a family member or friend to suicide, 12,13 availability of firearms, 14,15 female sex, 10,11 and a his-tory of physical or sexual abuse. 10,16,17 Some of the same risk factors for suicide attempts among adolescents in the general population have been found for American Indian and Alaska Native youth populations.…”

Suicidal ideation among American Indian youth

“…It was hypothesized that Negative Life Events would be positively related to Suicidal Ideation (Path Q, Figure 1), and research evidence supports this hypothesis in American (or Canadian) Indian samples (Gartrell, Jarvis, & Derksen, 1993;Howard-Pitney, LaFromboise, Basil, September, & Johnson, 1992;Manson, Beals, Dick, & Duclos, 1989;Novins, Beals, Roberts, & Manson, 1999) and in non-Native samples (e.g., De Man & Leduc, 1995;Garrison, Addy, Jackson, McKeown, & Waller, 1991;Warheit, Zimmerman, Khoury, Vega, & Gil, 1996). In a study cited in the Enculturation subsection above, Howard-Pitney and colleagues (Howard-Pitney, LaFromboise, Basil, September, & Johnson, 1992) assessed the relationship between stressful life events and suicidal ideation.…”

“…Only two studies (of which I am aware) have examined the relationship between ethnic identity, which is related to enculturation, and suicidal ideation, and both studies failed to support the hypothesized negative relationship. Howard-Pitney and colleagues (Howard-Pitney, LaFromboise, Basil, September, & Johnson, 1992) assessed the relationship between ethnic identity and suicidal ideation in a study of 83 Zuni adolescents.…”

“…Indian youth, and a fair number have been written about suicide attempts (Borowsky, Resnick, Ireland, & Blum, 1999;Dinges & Duong-Tran, 1993Grossman, Milligan, & Deyo, 1991;Howard-Pitney, LaFromboise, Basil, September, & Johnson, 1992;Manson, Beals, Dick, & Duclos, 1989;Pharris, Resnick, & Blum, 1997;Thurman, Martin, & Martin, 1995;Zitzow & Desjarlait, 1994) and suicidal ideation (Dinges & Duong-Tran, 1993Howard-Pitney, LaFromboise, Basil, September, & Johnson, 1992;Keane, Dick, Bechtold, & Manson, 1996;Manson, Beals, Dick, & Duclos, 1989;Novins, Beals, Roberts, & Manson, 1999;Pharris, Resnick, & Blum, 1997;Sack, Beiser, Baker-Brown, & Redshirt, 1994;Sack, Beiser, Phillips, & Baker-Brown, 1993) among these youth. This dissertation expands the literature in this area by examining risk factors for suicidal ideation among American Indian youth from three reservations in the upper Midwest.…”