ABSTRACT
Most of what is known about suicidal behaviors is derived from the dominant culture, for a number of reasons. First, the majority of persons attempting and completing suicide are European American if one were to assess sheer numbers. Approximately 30,000 people kill themselves each year in the United States, with almost 90% being White. Second, until less than 40 years ago, suicides were tabled as “White” or “Non-White.” Ethnic differences were nonexistent and there was little interest in determining culturally specific reasons for “Non-White” suicides. Third, the majority of suicidologists are European American and may consider groups of color but have not made them a focus of their research program. In essence, culture is considered a secondary factor instead of a primary factor. Fourth, although there is little literature assessing cultural issues relevant to ethnic suicide, there is an emerging amount. Finally, there has never been a call to the profession to begin to consider suicide from multiple worldviews. Leach (2006) was the first to compile much of the ethnic suicide literature, and this book is the second. The editors and authors of this text challenge researchers and clinicians to begin to consider suicide from a variety of cultural perspectives. Only through the addition of this knowledge will our understanding of suicide become more robust.
