The ‘Easy Street’ Myth: Self harm among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal female sole parents in urban state housing

Objective: To test the hypothesis that, controlling for socio-demographic factors, destructive behaviour among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal female sole parents will not be significantly different. Method: This study took place among an urban population of sole parents in Adelaide, South Australia, living in government housing. Two sample subsets were made up of 52 Aboriginal and 45 non-Aboriginal mothers from similar postcodes. Trained interviewers administered a questionnaire which, in addition to basic demographic data, elicited information concerning finance, housing, upbringing, experience of abuse and police interaction. The major issue of concern in the study was suicide attempt. Results: 1-in-3 of the whole sample, 2-in-5 of the non-Aboriginal and 1 -in-4 of the Aboriginal subset had attempted suicide at least once and half more than once. Statistical differences among ‘attempters’ vs. ‘non-attempters’, irrespective of ethnicity, included increased familial alcohol abuse, physical and sexual abuse, economic difficulty, poor self esteem and perceived discriminatory treatment by welfare agencies and, in the case of Aboriginals, by police. Conclusion: The social environment is critical to understanding destructive behaviour, including self-harm, regardless of culture or ethnicity. The data show that suicide attempts among female sole parents in State-housing is one of the few health indices for which Aboriginal statistics are less than for non-Aboriginals. Implications: It is evident that class, rather than ethnicity, better explains self-harm in this urban population. It is suggested that reluctance to access services, especially in times of crisis, relates in part to perceptions of care services and that, for Aboriginals, the value of culturally appropriate community-run services have specific public health and policy implications.