Sociocultural study of immigrant suicide-attempters: An ecological perspective

This article discusses the findings of a qualitative study with a sample of suicide attempters in the Chinese immigrant community of New York City from an ecological perspective. Findings: The narratives of the participants delineate the pathway of their suicide attempts as the culmination of an interactive process of stressors, mental illness, and diminished help-seeking behavior, compounded by immigrant-specific issues, cultural meanings of distress and social barriers to resources. Application: The transactional dynamics of these risk factors underscore the importance of adopting an integrative and contextualized stance of inquiry in suicide studies and initiating a broad-based community effort in suicide prevention.