Abstract
Suicidal behavior and death by suicide are significant and pressing problems in the Bhutanese refugee community. Currently, Bhutanese refugees are dying by suicide at a rate nearly two times that of the general U.S. population. Proper identification of risk factors for suicide saves lives; however, if risk is underestimated due to culturally inflexible risk assessments, preventable deaths may continue to occur. In this review, we examine specific cultural factors related to psychopathology and suicide among Bhutanese refugees. To contextualize the current suicide crisis among Bhutanese refugees, we propose an integration of the interpersonal psychological theory of suicide (Joiner, 2005) and the cultural model of suicide (Chu, Goldblum, Floyd, & Bongar, 2010). We provide recommendations for preventing suicide from a systems framework and discuss practical lessons from a preliminary study designed to test a culturally responsive model of suicide in Bhutanese refugees.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 270-283 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Asian American Journal of Psychology |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2018 |
Funding
We thank Rita Neopaney, for serving as a cultural consultant during the preparation of this article. Preparation of this article was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health [F31MH116562-01] to Jonah Meyerhoff, with Kelly J. Rohan, Karen M. Fondacaro, and Rex Forehand as cosponsors.
Keywords
- Culture
- Forced migration
- Ideation-to-action
- Prevention
- Trauma
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Psychology
