Figure 4. Youth Suicide Deaths by Sex in Selected Countries, 2012–2015
Note . From “Annual Research Review: Suicide among youth – epidemiology, (potential) etiology, and treatment,” by Cha, C. B., et al., 2017. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 59(4), 460-482.
In an attempt to find explanations for trends related to suicide distribution among races and ethnicities, researchers have queried the effect of the immediate local environment because the realities of racial and ethnic groups’ habitation can be quite different. Consider, for example, Sweden, where youth living in areas with a significant number of foreign-born parents have a lower risk of suicide. However, youth living in areas of the country where foreign-born parents are a relative minority have a higher risk of suicide. Similar observations have been made in England and most of the culturally diverse parts of Africa. Factors such as family connectedness, communication, and religion have been cited as common protective factors in these populations. Especially in Africa, the community relationship in less culturally diverse countries and the huge regard for religion in culturally diverse countries are considered significant factors in Early studies conducted in the 1990s to help elucidate the triggers of suicidal ideation recognized the importance of self-perception. In many cases, subjects with a healthy self- perception showed a lot of resilience and projected courage when asked about any likelihood of suicidal ideation or depression. Today, rationalizing a subject’s sense of perception is considered an important aspect of research designed to measure and assess suicidality in a population. Sexual orientation and gender identity are considered a big part of self-perception in the Western world today. In the late 1990s, research on suicidality assessments related to sexual orientation Understanding what triggers suicidal ideation and attempts across sexual orientation, sex, age, and region is central to instituting proactive policies and campaigns to combat suicide. Future studies in this regard will probe further to understand the different pathways through the trigger stage to the ideation and active attempt stages. Because not all suicidal ideation culminates in attempts, suicide and attempts cannot be reliably used to understand the prevailing risk factors for suicide in a region. Surveys focusing on the triggers of ideation seem to do a better job of outlining identifying risk factors (McHugh et al., 2019). These surveys seek find answers to questions such as:
suggested that gay, lesbian, and transgender youth reported a higher rate of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts compared with heterosexual youth. On further inquiry, these findings have been confirmed in countries with clusters of LGBTQ populations globally. The prevalence of suicide in these groups varies based on factors such as geographical location, level of local support for the LGBTQ community, and other predominant social triggers of suicide in the community. For instance, survey reports on suicidality have shown that LGBTQ youth in U.S. counties have a 20% higher risk of suicidal ideation and attempts if they live in areas with low support for diverse sexual orientations. In the West generally, the most important social factors responsible
the rate of suicidal ideation and attempts. Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation for the prevalence of suicide among LGBT youth include political party support for the LGBTQ community, supportive federal policies, and bullying and discrimination that target LGBTQ youth and other LGBTQ individuals in their community (Pharr et al., 2022). In the same vein, increased support for the LGBTQ community leads to lower rates of suicidal ideation, attempts, and deaths. Counties with legislation ratifying same- sex relationships and marriages generally have a less suicidal LGBTQ community, and the prevalence rate becomes almost the same as in the general youth population. Globally, the suicidality of this population depends largely on the social triggers distinctively associated them. In Africa, China, Yemen, and Middle Eastern countries, the prevalence of suicide among same-sex communities is expected to be higher. UNDERSTANDING THE POTENTIAL RISK FACTORS AND TRIGGERS OF YOUTH SUICIDE
● What are the prevailing pathways of suicidal ideation through intent initiation to suicide attempts in a population? ● What triggers and factors sustain the pathway from suicidal ideation to suicide attempts and deaths? ● What protective factors are available to potentially balance out these triggers and risk factors? ● Can we measure the effectiveness and distribution of these protective factors in the study populations? ● How can these protective factors be leveraged and enhanced to correct the tide of suicide prevalence in the community being studied?
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