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Suicidal behaviour in Indigenous compared to non-Indigenous males in urban and regional Australia: Prevalence data suggest disparities increase across age groups.
- Source :
-
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry . Dec2017, Vol. 51 Issue 12, p1240-1248. 9p. - Publication Year :
- 2017
-
Abstract
- Objectives: We compare the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and attempts between Indigenous and non-Indigenous males in urban and regional Australia, and examine the extent to which any disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous males varies across age groups. Methods: We used data from the baseline wave of The Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health (Ten to Men), a large-scale cohort study of Australian males aged 10–55 years residing in urban and regional areas. Indigenous identification was determined through participants self-reporting as Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or both. The survey collected data on suicidal thoughts in the preceding 2 weeks and lifetime suicide attempts. Results: A total of 432 participants (2.7%) identified as Indigenous and 15,425 as non-Indigenous (97.3%). Indigenous males were twice as likely as non-Indigenous males to report recent suicidal thoughts (17.6% vs 9.4%; odds ratio = 2.1, p < 0.001) and more than three times as likely to report a suicide attempt in their lifetime (17.0% vs 5.1%; odds ratio = 3.6; p < 0.001). The prevalence of recent suicidal thoughts did not differ between Indigenous and non-Indigenous males in younger age groups, but a significant gap emerged among men aged 30–39 years and was largest among men aged 40–55 years. Similarly, the prevalence of lifetime suicide attempts did not differ between Indigenous and non-Indigenous males in the 14- to 17-years age group, but a disparity emerged in the 18- to 24-years age group and was even larger among males aged 25 years and older. Conclusion: Our paper presents unique data on suicidal thoughts and attempts among a broad age range of Indigenous and non-Indigenous males. The disparity in the prevalence of suicidal thoughts increased across age groups, which is in contrast to the large disparity between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous suicide rates in younger age groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00048674
- Volume :
- 51
- Issue :
- 12
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 126393937
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0004867417704059