Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When classified by race, Suicide is the first leading cause of death in young Asian-American adults aged 15 to 24 years... This is not the case for other racial groups in this age group in the United States.
Despite this disparity Little attention is paid By society and by gatekeepers such as academies and private and public funding agencies regarding what causes suicidal behavior among racial minorities such as Asian Americans. There is not enough research on how to prevent suicide, especially for Asian Americans.Asian Americans also make this study more difficult Racial groups most unlikely to seek and use mental health services..
I PhD candidate I am studying public health with a focus on studying minority mental health disparities. I think it’s important to know how violence, suicide and inequality are related. Affect the lives of Asian Americans..
Beyond risk factors
When the death of an Asian-American is caused by suicide, it is not just because the person has experienced a risk factor. surely, Evidence suggests If the house has easily accessible means such as a gun, or if the person knows the person who died in suicide, the risk of attempted suicide increases. But is it the big picture for Asian Americans, or even for other racial minorities?
The truth is that people studying suicidal are trying to come up with a profile of who is “at risk” in order to accurately predict and ultimately prevent suicidal behavior and death. ..Today, a lot of research funding Computer algorithm When Gene biomarker Calculate exactly who is at risk. Do these methods justify the racialized experience of being Asian-American in the United States?
The only national survey of Asian American mental health
So the problem is: How can researchers understand and develop suicide prevention efforts that accurately address racial minorities like Asian Americans? To answer this question, we first need a study of Asian Americans.
Unfortunately, First, only, last research It assesses national epidemiological prevalence estimates of mental illness in the Asian-American community and was published almost 20 years ago in the early 2000s. Since these data were collected, The Asian population of the United States has increased by 72% by 2015Make Asians the fastest growing racial or ethnic group beyond Hispanics.
In my view, Asian-American suicide is an unaddressed issue that can lead to endemic disease in a fast-growing community with little or no way to stop it. ..
Centuries of stigma
What if there is a way to do it Scientifically explain racism As the root cause of health inequalities?The answer lies in understanding stigma..
The stigmatized identity is arguably a universal phenomenon. People who are stigmatized are undesired by society, have negative stereotypes, are rejected, are excluded, and eventually become strangers. Asian Americans have institutionally experienced this type of stigma. Early modern America Because the race classification has begun to solidify.
As America continues Racialize Asian AmericansIt continues its legacy Structural violence When Historical trauma..This means Anti-Asian violence exists in the very structure of American society..This social oppression and violence Internalization For self-hatred, self-harm, and ultimately voluntary violence, which is suicide.
However, when it comes to becoming Asian in the United States, looking at race alone is incomplete. There are many violently oppressive systems facing Asian Americans, and the risk of voluntary violence is high. These are essentially intersecting.that is CrossingAn Asian-American identity, or cross-section, that must be scrutinized to reveal insights into suicide prevention in this incredibly diverse community.
For example, being an immigrant and experiencing alien exclusion is a dominant experience for many Asian Americans. Many people have lived in the United States for several generations, Asian Americans make up the majority of the second generation of adults today.. Second-generation immigrants are people born in the United States who have at least one foreign-born parent.
What is the reason why it is important to know this?
Current trends show that the United States is exploding into an immigrant-rich country.is more than It is estimated that 36% of all Americans are from immigrants – It’s the 1st or 2nd generation – by 2050. By that time, the overwhelming majority of the country’s working-age population – 93% – will also be from immigrants. I have a problem here: Second generation migrants are considered a risky group For suicidal behavior and death by researchers around the world. Researchers are not yet completely convinced of the reason, and that is why this study is so timely.
Complex and time-consuming problems
It takes decades to carry out the research. It also takes decades to understand the problem and how to deal with it.The Public health scientist Those working on inequality research are aware of the complex problems faced by minority groups such as Asian Americans. If there were interventions to end racism and alien exclusion, perhaps many Asian American lives would be saved from both murder and suicide.
In reality, white supremacy is so deeply practiced in the United States that reversing racism cannot reverse the disparity in health outcomes such as suicide.The reason for that Assimilation is “traumatic”.. It means traumatic exposure of Racist and xenophobic violence and discrimination It destroys psychological and physiological functions and retains the power to change the genetic code for the next generation. Race-based traumatic stress It has the power to make the entire population, communities like Asian Americans, vulnerable to voluntary violence.
In my view, all you have to do is work to change the norms of inclusion. It doesn’t take years of research to do that. Let’s get started now. Act locally.This is First step..
[Understand new developments in science, health and technology, each week. Subscribe to The Conversation’s science newsletter.]
This article will be republished from conversation, A non-profit news site aimed at sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Amelia Noor-Great Castle, Johns Hopkins University..
read more:
Amelia Noor-Oshiro does not work, consult, own shares, or receive funds for any company or organization that would benefit from this article.