ABSTRACT
Now that readers have perused their way through the previous chapters we can reflect on the current status of the field and offer some ideas regarding needed research direction over the next decade. We discussed a range of ideas based on the three sections of the book, including theories of suicide and their lack of information regarding ethnic minorities, various ethnic groups in the U.S., and assessment, prevention, intervention, and training issues. Many of the authors in this volume expressed frustration with the small amount of research literature and highlighted the need for more research. This need is especially true given that ethnic minorities are less likely to report distress to mental health professionals and the actual suicidal behavior rates may be significantly under-reported. It is through research that we can begin to alter traditional prevention, intervention, and postvention programs to include contextually relevant approaches. Quite frankly, the research field has woefully under-included ethnic minorities and the research possibilities are almost endless. Most of what is known about suicide stems from the majority culture with the underlying understanding that most assessment, prevention, and interventions are universal. Some areas for future research consideration are presented in this chapter. Some of the ideas are summarized from the authors in this text while others are abridged from Leach (2006).
