Suicidal behaviour of young immigrant women in the Netherlands. Can we use Durkheim's concept of'fatalistic suicide’ to explain their high incidence of attempted suicide?

Bergen, Diana van; Smit, Johannes H.; Balkom, A.J.L.M. van; Saharso, Sawitri

doi:10.1080/01419870802315043

Cited by 30 publications

(43 citation statements)

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“…Before 2003, anonymous reporting procedures existed. When the anonymous scores were compared to non-anonymous procedures, levels of internalizing behaviors were shown to be unaffected (Van de Looij- Jansen et al 2006). A systematic review by Evans et al (2005) confirms that differences in prevalence of suicide attempts between non-anonymous and anonymous questionnaires are small.…”

Section: Study Design and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…We assume that the following prepositions influence the variation in the rates of suicidal behavior across immigrant and non-immigrants: (1) mental and physical health problems exist disproportionately in immigrant parents; (2) minority females are over represented at lower educational levels; (3) immigrant families mostly belong to lower social economic strata and also suffer from additional disadvantages compared to Dutch lower class families; (4) resulting from 1 to 3: the family environment and relationship with the parents may be more unfavorable for immigrant young females; (5) the study we present here is the quantitative part of a project that combines qualitative and quantitative research strategies. We previously conducted life story interviews with South Asian, Turkish, and Moroccan young women who displayed suicidal behavior and we learnt that the failure to abide by cultural codes of chastity was related to suicidal behavior (Van Bergen et al 2009). This led us to suggest that the cultural impact of sexual abuse on suicidal behavior may be more profound for Turkish, Moroccan, and South Asian young women; and (6) due to the aforementioned factors (1Á5), rates of attempted suicide among young females of South AsianSurinamese, Turkish, and Moroccan immigrant groups will be higher compared to Dutch majority females.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Such physical inequalities may be relevant to suicidal behavior. A negative association has been identified between chronic disease in Turkish parents and the psychological well-being of their children (Van de Looij-Jansen et al 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Suicidal behavior and ethnicity of young females in Rotterdam, the Netherlands: rates and risk factors

et al. 2010

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Objective. Although Western Europe is becoming increasingly multicultural, ethnic minorities are scarcely included in studies of suicidology. We investigated the prevalence of non-fatal suicidal behavior and examined risk factors in nonwestern female immigrant adolescents compared to majority female adolescents in the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Design. We conducted logistic regression on a dataset that consisted of selfreported health and well-being questionnaires filled out by 4527 adolescents of Dutch, South Asian-Surinamese, Moroccan, and Turkish origin. We examined whether young females of specific ethnic groups had elevated risk for attempted suicide. Well-known risk factors in suicidology of social economic class, level of education, life events, abuse, and family context were investigated to verify whether these factors are beneficial to explaining ethnic differences in suicidal behavior. Results. We found that rates of attempted suicide among Turkish and South Asian-Surinamese young women were higher than of Dutch females, while Moroccan females had lower rates than Dutch female adolescents. Physical and sexual abuse, and an impaired family environment, as well as parental psychopathology or parental substance abuse contributed to non-fatal suicidal behavior of females across ethnicities. However, these risk factors, as well as low social economic class and of level of education, did not fully explain the vulnerability of Turkish and South Asian-Surinamese females. Conclusion. Our findings underscored the need for developing suicide prevention for specific minority females in multicultural cities in Western Europe. Screening programs, which aim at preventing suicide attempts by young immigrant women should include risk factors in the family environment and relationship with the parents as well as physical and sexual abuse. However, the study also showed that the disproportionate risk of Turkish and South Asian-Surinamese females could not be understood by risk factors alone and transpired that the origins of ethnic disparities in suicidal behavior deserve further examination.

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Section: Study Design and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Suicidal behavior and ethnicity of young females in Rotterdam, the Netherlands: rates and risk factors

et al. 2010

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“…Durkheim refers to suicide resulting from low levels of regulation as anomic suicide, which are presumably endemic in modern societies. Conversely, high levels of social regulations associated with low levels of social integration characterize the fatalistic suicide (Durkheim, 1897) 1 : the subjugation and oppression by an overwhelming force that has control over individual action, facilitate suicidal behaviour (Acevedo, 2005;van Bergen et al 2009). According to this view, formal control may be too strong to the extent that individual beliefs and values are non-aligned with those of society and this, in turn, may produce feelings of resentment and reactance which may lead to attempts to evade the social restriction (Brehm and Brehm, 1981;Burgoon et al, 2002).…”

Section: Social Integration Regulation and Conformitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Social conformity and suicide

Bussu

Detotto

Sterzi

2013

The Journal of Socio-Economics

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C R E N O S w a s s e t u p i n 1 9 9 3 w i t h t h e p u r p o s e o f o r g a n i s i n g t h e j o i n t r e s e a r c h e f f o r t o f e c o n o m i s t s f r o m t h e t w o S a r d i n i a n u n i v e r s i t i e s ( C a g l i a r i a n d S a s s a r i ) i n v e s t i g a t i n g d u a l i s m a t t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l a n d r e g i o n a l l e v e l . C R E N o S ' p r i m a r y a i m i s t o i m p r o v e k n o w l e d g e o n t h e e c o n o m i c g a p b e t w e e n a r e a s a n d t o p r o v i d e u s e f u l i n f o r m a t i o n f o r p o l i c y i n t e r v e n t i o n . P a r t i c u l a r a t t e n t i o n i s p a i d t o t h e r o l e o f i n s t i t u t i o n s , t e c h n o l o g i c a l p r o g r e s s a n d d i f f u s i o n o f i n n o v a t i o n i n t h e p r o c e s s o f c o n v e r g e n c e o r d i v e r g e n c e b e t w e e n e c o n o m i c a r e a s . T o c a r r y o u t i t s r e s e a r c h , C R E N o S c o l l a b o r a t e s w i t h r e s e a r c h c e n t r e s a n d u n i v e r s i t i e s a t b o t h n a t i o n a l a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l l e v e l . T h e c e n t r e i s a l s o a c t i v e i n t h e f i e l d o f s c i e n t i f i c d i s s e m i n a t i o n , o r g a n i z i n g c o n f e r e n c e s a n d w o r k s h o p s a l o n g w i t h o t h e r a c t i v i t i e s s u c h a s s e m i n a r s a n d s u m m e r s c h o o l s . C R E N o S c r e a t e s a n d m a n a g e s s e v e r a l d a t a b a s e s o f v a r i o u s s o c i o -e c o n o m i c v a r i a b l e s o n I t a l y a n d S a r d i n i a . A t t h e l o c a l l e v e l , C R E N o S p r o m o t e s a n d p a r t i c i p a t e s t o p r o j e c t s i m p a c t i n g o n t h e m o s t r e l e v a n t i s s u e s i n t h e S a r d i n i a n e c o n o m y , s u c h a s t o u r i s m , e n v i r o n m e n t , t r a n s p o r t s a n d Abstract We study the relationship between suicide rates and socioeconomic factors by using a panel data at Italian province level in the time span 1996-2005. Our analysis focuses on the impact of social norms on suicidal behaviours. In particular, beyond the usual social correlates of suicide rates, we propose an aggregate measure of social conformity which refers to the religious sphere as an area of conflict between individual and social behaviours. GMM and dynamic spatial panel data approach are implemented to control for serial and spatial autocorrelation. The results confirm the primary role of family, alcohol consumption and population density in explaining the suicide rates in Italy, while the economic variables, namely income per capita and economic growth, do not appear to have any effects. IntroductionMore than one hundred years after his seminal work, Emile Durkheim still provides the starting point of any sociological study on suicide. According to Durkheim (1893;1897), the frequency of self-killing in society depends on two factors: social integration and regulation. As a result, four types of suicide can be distinguished: egoistic, anomic...

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“…The pressure and abusive conditions in their social context to ensure they would follow cultural norms led to an absence of freedom over crafting their life course that is characteristic for fatalistic suicide. In Durkheim's theory of fatalistic suicide individuals are confronted with the long-term situations of over-control upheld through force in their immediate social contexts, and then enter a prolonged state of entrapment and hopelessness, precipitating suicidal behavior (Van Bergen et al, 2009). On the basis of our findings we are inclined to believe that the need for autonomy is universal (cf.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suicidality of young ethnic minority women with an immigrant background: The role of autonomy

Bergen

Saharso²

2015

European Journal of Women's Studies

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Ethnic minority status and female gender convey a risk for suicidal behavior, yet research of suicidality of ethnic minority female immigrants is scarce. The authors of this article conducted qualitative interviews with 15 young women (of four ethnicities) in the Netherlands, who either had attempted suicide or contemplated suicide, and analyzed these in a narrative psychology tradition. Suicidality was associated with despair and frustration over the violation of the women's personal autonomy and self-integrity regarding strategic life choices. Autonomy restrictions and violations followed two patterns, which are interconnected with four criteria regarding the capacity for autonomy. Findings are discussed with referral to Durkheim and feminist theories of autonomy. KeywordsDurkheim, ethnic minorities, immigrant women, personal autonomy, suicidal behavior, suicidal ideation A remarkable finding with regard to the epidemiology of non-fatal suicidal behaviour and suicidal ideation is the predictive role that gender plays. Young women demonstrate high levels of non-fatal suicidal behavior and suicidal ideation compared to males (Bursztein Lipsicas et al., 2012). Nevertheless, there is a paucity of research investigating the

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Suicidal behaviour of young immigrant women in the Netherlands. Can we use Durkheim's concept of'fatalistic suicide’ to explain their high incidence of attempted suicide?

Cited by 30 publications

References 15 publications

Suicidal behavior and ethnicity of young females in Rotterdam, the Netherlands: rates and risk factors

Suicidal behavior and ethnicity of young females in Rotterdam, the Netherlands: rates and risk factors

Social conformity and suicide

Suicidality of young ethnic minority women with an immigrant background: The role of autonomy

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