American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
Volume 85, Issue 1, 2015, Pages 43-55

Understanding Bhutanese refugee suicide through the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior (Article)

Ellis B.H.* , Lankau E.W. , Ao T. , Benson M.A. , Miller A.B. , Shetty S. , Cardozo B.L. , Geltman P.L. , Cochran J.
  • a Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Atlanta, GA, United States
  • b Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, Atlanta, GA, United States, Athens, GA, United States
  • c Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global Disease Detection Branch, Atlanta, GA, United States
  • d Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Atlanta, GA, United States
  • e Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Atlanta, GA, United States
  • f Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Immigrant, Refugee, and Migrant Health Branch, Atlanta, GA, United States
  • g Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Emergency Response and Recovery Branch, Center for Global Health, Atlanta, GA, United States
  • h Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Division of Global Populations and Infections Disease Prevention, Jamaica Plain, MA, United States, Harvard Medical School, Department of Pediatrics, Jamaica Plain, MA, United States
  • i Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Division of Global Populations and Infectious Disease Prevention, Bureau of Infectious Disease, Jamaica Plain, MA, United States

Abstract

Attention has been drawn to high rates of suicide among refugees after resettlement and in particular among the Bhutanese refugees. This study sought to understand the apparent high rates of suicide among resettled Bhutanese refugees in the context of the Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicidal Behavior (IPTS). Expanding on a larger investigation of suicide in a randomly selected sample of Bhutanese men and women resettled in Arizona, Georgia, New York, and Texas (Ao et al., 2012), the current study focused on 2 factors, thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness, examined individual and postmigration variables associated with these factors, and explored how they differed by gender. Overall, factors such as poor health were associated with perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness. For men, stressors related to employment and providing for their families were related to feeling burdensome and/or alienated from family and friends, whereas for women, stressors such as illiteracy, family conflict, and being separated from family members were more associated. IPTS holds promise in understanding suicide in the resettled Bhutanese community. © 2015 American Orthopsychiatric Association.

Author Keywords

Bhutanese Refugee Suicide

Index Keywords

Likert scale depression Models, Psychological psychological model refugee mental health service Interpersonal Relations Emotions human epidemiology Refugees middle aged sex difference statistics and numerical data Stress, Psychological mental stress controlled study social support ethnology Bhutan human relation United States Young Adult Humans male female risk factor Risk Factors Article emotion suicidal behavior DSM-III-R employment status adult major clinical study Psychological Theory migration posttraumatic stress disorder structured interview Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Emigration and Immigration community structure Bhutanese DSM-IV Suicide suicidal ideation
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84925745834&doi=10.1037%2fort0000028&partnerID=40&md5=f94c65e5c7b2ab6ff880e9bb257aa245
DOI: 10.1037/ort0000028
ISSN: 00029432
Cited by: 10
Original Language: English