Suicide amongst the Inuit of Nunavut: An Exploration of Life Trajectories

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Mar 11;17(6):1812. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17061812.

Abstract

This article reports results of the life trajectories from 92 Inuit who died by suicide, matched for age and gender with 92 living-controls. A proxy-based procedure and semi-structured interviews with informants were conducted to obtain trajectories of developmental events occurring over the life course for suicide and community-matched controls. Results from this research indicate two different trajectories that differentiate the control-group from the suicide-group throughout the life course. Even though the number of suicide attempts are similar between both groups, the suicide-group had a more important burden of adversity, which seemed to create a cascading effect, leading to suicide.

Keywords: Inuit; life trajectory; suicide.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Interviews as Topic
  • Inuit*
  • Nunavut
  • Suicide, Attempted / ethnology*

Grants and funding