Profile of a Metropolitan North American Immigrant Suicidal Adolescent Population

Abstract

Objective: Canadian immigrant adolescents have a lower suicide rate than their nonimmigrant peers. We conducted a hypothesis-generating analysis to determine whether this lower rate correlated with level of drug use and (or) with diagnostic and demographic characteristics of Canadian immigrant adolescents presenting to an emergency room for crisis assessment. Method: Known risk factors for suicide were compared among immigrant youth, North American youth, and a culturally mixed group of youth at baseline and at 6-month follow-up. Results: The immigrant group was only differentiated by a lower rate of reported drug use. Conclusion: The lower rate of reported drug use at the time of crisis may contribute to the lower suicide rate among immigrants.