Review of the Literature: Suicide Prevention of Aboriginal Youth

Objectives

1. Outline suicide prevention strategies for Aboriginal youth reported on in the literature.

Background and Prevalence

According to the World Health Organization (2002), “in many legal systems, a death is certified as suicide if the circumstances are consistent with suicide and if murder, accidental death and natural causes can all be ruled out” (p. 185). Youth suicide is a growing health concern in Canada as it is the second leading cause of death in Canada (Kutcher & Szumilas, 2008, p. 282). However, even more concerning then that is the highly disproportionate rates of youth suicide between Canada’s Aboriginal populations and its non-Aboriginal populations, with Aboriginal youths being the demographic with higher suicide rates (Dunleavy, 2007; Jacono & Jacono, 2008; Kirmayer, Simpson, & Cargo, 2003; Kutcher & Szumilas, 2008; MacNeil, 2008; Orkin, Rajaram, & Schwandt, 2013; Walls, Hautala, & Hurley, 2014). Although statistics vary on exactly how much higher the aboriginal youth suicide rates are, all do agree that they are drastically higher, some stating twice that of the national average while others saying even as high as 5-7 times (Dunleavy, 2007; Jacono & Jacono, 2008; Kirmayer et al., 2003; Kutcher & Szumilas, 2008; MacNeil, 2008; Orkin et al., 2013; Walls et al., 2014). It is particularly shocking to note that the age range for what is considered a youth in many of these studies starts as low as 8 years old and ranges all the way to 25 years old, meaning a substantial portion of this population is being affected by this crisis (MacNeil, 2008, p. 6). It is also important to note that on average, “First Nations males are at a greater risk for completed suicide but at a lower risk than females for attempted suici...

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...y suicide attempts, over a long period of time (Katz et al., 2006, p. 163; Kral et al., 2009, p. 302). This means that intervention strategies need to be multifaceted not only focusing on suicide prevention but also focusing on alcohol and substance abuse programs, family counselling, among other programs. In this way, the causes of high suicide rates are addressed which will reduce suicide rates in the long-run.

In one article, collaboration between the government and the local workers and community members from a few remote Aboriginal communities indicated that the best interventions were community-oriented and based suicide prevention programs. They were funded by the government but organized by the local Aboriginal community workers who could modify the government programs in order to fit into each of their community’s unique needs (Dunleavy, 2007).

Education.