Suicide and Ethnic Factors in Canada

Abstract

A neglected area of sociological investigation is the relationship between ethnic factors and suicide mortality. This paper explores this topic among immigrant-ethnic groups in Canada. Three hypotheses are evaluated: (1) the assimilation thesis, which posits that the greater the degree of social assimilation among immigrant-ethnic groups, the greater the suicide rate; (2) the ethnic community integration explanation, which predicts that ethnic groups with strong degrees of community cohesiveness share reduced odds in their incidence of suicide; and (3) the socioeconomic hypothesis, which accounts for observed differences in suicide on the basis of discrepancies in socioeconomic well-being. The results of a multiple regression analysis provide empirical support for hypotheses (1) and (2). The findings are discussed in the context of multiculturalism and the propensities for sociocultural groups to commit suicide during the processes of assimilation and adjustment to the larger society.