Suicide and Culture

Why understanding the role of culture can help prevent suicideThe increasing domination of biological approaches in suicide research and prevention,at the expense of social and cultural understanding, is severely harming ourability to stop people dying – so run the clearly set out arguments and evidence inthis lucid book by leading social scientists and suicide researchers.In the first part of this book, instead of simply comparing suicide in different countries,the authors review and examine the fundamental issues of why culture is ofvital importance in understanding and preventing suicidal behavior, what the "culturalmeaning" of suicide is, and where current research and theory are leading us.The second part of the book then presents (and, importantly, also critiques) exemplaryrecent research, including a quantitative and qualitative study on the meaningof suicide in Australia, India, and Italy, which is reported in detail, as well as otherstudies on correlates of suicidal behavior in Kuwait and the US, on a culturallyspecific form of suicide (sati), and on the role of cultural conflict in South Korea.In the concluding section, the editors highlight both the necessity and the challengesof conducting good culturally sensitive studies, as well as suggesting solutionsto these challenges. This volume is thus essential reading for anyone involvedin suicide research and prevention