US-born Asian-American women more likely to contemplate suicide

Washington, Aug 18 (ANI): A new study has found that US-born Asian American women are more likely to contemplate suicide as compared to the general population.

The study from University of Washington has shown that 15.93 percent of U.S.-born Asian-American women have contemplated suicide in their lifetime, exceeding national estimates of 13.5 percent for all Americans.

It also showed that estimates of suicide attempts were 6.29 percent higher among U.S-born Asian-American women than the general population.

The data from the study were drawn from the larger National Latino and Asian-American Study almost 2,100 individuals at least 18 years of age.

Two-thirds were immigrants from Asia and women made up 53 percent of the respondents. Participants included 600 Chinese, 520 Vietnamese, 508 Filipinos and 467 other Asians, including Japanese, Koreans and Asian Indians.

"It is unclear why Asian-Americans who were born in the United States have higher rates of thinking about and attempting suicide," said Aileen Duldulao, a UW doctoral student in social work and lead author of the study.

"There is the theory of the 'healthy immigrant' that proposes immigrants may be healthier on average than U.S-born Americans, because of the selectivity of migration or the retention of culturally-based behaviours," Duldulao added.

The findings revealed that young Asian-Americans, between 18 and 34, had the highest estimates of thinking about (11.9 percent), planning (4.38 percent) and attempting suicide (3.82 percent) of any age group.

"This study highlights the fact that we may be underserving Asian-American women born in the U.S," said Duldulao.

"While there was little evidence of sociodemographic differences in suicidal behaviors among various Asian-American groups, there was some anecdotal data from people working in the community.

"It is important for service providers, as well as policymakers, to know that U.S.-born Asian-Americans, particularly the second generation, are at high risk for mental health problems and suicidal behaviour," Duldulao added.

The study is published in the journal Archives of Suicide Research. (ANI)