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Suicide during 1961–70 of migrants in Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

P. W. Burvill ,
T. L. Woodings ,
N. S. Stenhouse  and
M. G. McCall
P. W. Burvill*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Science, University of Western Australia
T. L. Woodings
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Science, University of Western Australia
N. S. Stenhouse
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Science, University of Western Australia
M. G. McCall
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Science, University of Western Australia
*
1Address for correspondence: Associate Professor P. W. Burvill, University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Science, Box X2213 GPO, Perth, Western Australia, 6001.
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Synopsis

Rates and methods of suicide during 1961–70 of migrants in Australia were compared with native born Australians. Large differences in both rates and methods of suicide were found in individual migrant groups. The rates were more akin to those in the country of origin than of the Australian-born, no matter how long the migrants had lived in Australia. By contrast, methods of suicide used by migrants approached more closely those of the Australian-born the longer they had lived in Australia. The change in methods used was greatest in those migrant groups coming from countries with a language and culture more akin to those in Australia. A discussion follows of various possible sociological and cultural factors, both within the countries of origin and within Australia, which could have contributed to these results.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , May 1982 , pp. 295 - 308
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

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