Race and cultural background can be major influences on suicidal behaviour. Patterns of suicide amongst Black and Asian people in the UK are not congruent with patterns of suicide amongst white people.

For example, one study of young people of Asian origin in the UK found that the suicide rate of 16-24 year old women was three times that of 16-24 year old women of white British origin. [17] This contrasts sharply with the suicide rates of young Asian men who appear to be far less vulnerable to suicide than young men from white British backgrounds.

Asian women's groups have linked the high suicide rates amongst young Asian women to cultural pressures; conservative parental values and traditions such as arranged marriages may clash with the wishes and expectations of young women themselves.

Highly dangerous suicide methods such as self-burning are more common amongst young Asian women than other groups. [18] Self-burning is a common method of suicide amongst women in India, having its origins in the traditional practice of Hindu widows burning themselves on their husband's funeral pyre: a practice known as "suttee".

Little is known about suicide rates amongst Black people in the UK. This due in part to the fact that British death certificates do not record any details of an individual's racial or cultural identity, unlike the United States where these details are routinely recorded.

One British study of attempted suicides found that young Black women appeared particularly vulnerable to suicide attempts, and that suicide attempts amongst young Black people increased more rapidly than in young white people during the late 1970s. [19]

Recent statistics from the Samaritans suggest that there has been a 22 per cent increase in suicide amongst Irish and Scottish people in recent years. [20]

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