Ethnic Differences in Suicidal Ideation and Attempts

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death, and suicidal ideation and attempts are a major public health problem. However, little is known about the relationship between ethnicity and suicidal behaviors.The goal of this article is to provide an update on the relationship between ethnicity and suicidal ideation and attempts. We review the rates of suicide ideation/attempts across ethnic groups in the US, and the risk factors associated with suicide attempts in each ethnic group.The results of published studies have been inconsistent. Some studies have suggested that non-Hispanic Whites have significantly higher suicide attempt risk than other ethnic groups, while two studies using national data did not find any significant relationship between race/ethnicity and suicide ideation or attempts. From the epidemiological point of view, these findings underscore the need to conduct large studies in general population samples that include enough individuals from all ethnic groups and that are large enough to detect significant effects among those groups. From the clinical point of view, mental health professionals should focus on factors that have been consistently found to be strongly associated with suicide attempts across different populations, including major depression and other psychiatric disorders, female gender, and young age.