Suicide and Irish migrants in Britain: identity and integration

Journal/Book: Int Rev Psychiatr. 1999; 11: PO Box 25, Abingdon Ox14 3Ue, Oxfordshire, England. Carfax Publ Co. 168-172.

Abstract: Although cross-national comparisons of suicide data may be notoriously unreliable, the suicide rates of Irish-born people in Britain appear to be greater than those of the Irish in Ireland. This paper provides a review of the literature and examines evidence that migration to Britain heightens the risk of suicide for It ish people. Other studies from North America and Australia appear to confirm that the experience of living abroad for many Irish people is stressful. The reasons for this stress are complicated. In Britain, the relatively unsettled nature of Irish migration and the inability of the Irish to create an authentic identity may play a significant role. Irish cultural attitudes to health and the use of alcohol as an accepted method of coping with stress may also add to the cell.

Note: Article Leavey G, St Anns Hosp, Haringey Healthcare NHS Trust, London N15 3TH, ENGLAND

Keyword(s): RATES; MORTALITY; IRELAND; IMMIGRANTS; AUSTRALIA; ENGLAND; ALCOHOL; TRENDS; WALES

Zurück | Weiter