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Cultural Identification and Attempted Suicide in Native Hawaiian Adolescents

NCJ Number
181597
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 39 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2000 Pages: 360-367
Author(s)
Noelle Y. Yuen M.D.; Linda B. Nahulu M.D.; Earl S. Hishinuma Ph.D.; Robin H. Miyamoto Ph.D.
Editor(s)
Mina K. Dulcan M.D.
Date Published
2000
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study determined rates of lifetime suicide attempts in a community sample of Native Hawaiian adolescents and explored the contribution of Hawaiian cultural affiliation, socioeconomic status, and psychiatric symptoms as risk factors for suicide.
Abstract
The study was part of the Native Hawaiian Mental Health Research Development Program. High school students were surveyed for lifetime suicide attempts, cultural affiliation, and socioeconomic status and for symptoms of depression, substance abuse, aggression, and anxiety. The sample included 4,182 students in grades 9 through 12 from 5 high schools who were surveyed during the 1993-1994 school year. About 60 percent of these students participated in the study. Native Hawaiian adolescents had significantly higher rates of suicide attempts (12.9 percent) than other adolescents in Hawaii (9.6 percent). Hawaiian cultural affiliation rather than ethnicity was uniquely predictive of suicide attempts. Logistic regression analysis indicated that depression, substance abuse, grade level, cultural affiliation, and main wage earner's education best predicted suicide attempts by Native Hawaiian adolescents, while depression, substance abuse, and aggression predicted suicide attempts in non-Hawaiians. 28 references and 3 tables