[Hidden explanations for ethnic differences in suicidal behaviour]

Abstract

A recent study indicates that there are substantial differences in suicide mortality between native Dutch and migrant groups in the Netherlands. Of the major non-western migrant groups in the Netherlands, suicide mortality was significantly lower among Turks and Moroccans, whereas it was higher among migrants from Surinam. Suicide figures were higher in men than in women, but the ethnic groups differed in this respect. The determinants of these differences are largely unknown. We can only speculate as to why the incidence is so markedly above or below average in certain groups. The mental, cultural and social factors that play a role here are presumably multiple and mutually interconnected, so that only further and more detailed research can provide an answer. The numbers and patterns do, however, call for extra attention and alertness.