Precipitating and risk factors for suicidal behaviour among immigrant and ethnic minority women in Europe: A systematic review

Background: During recent decades, immigration to European countries has increased substantially. Immigrant and ethnic minority women in Europe have higher rates of suicidal behaviour than women from the majority population. This indicates that circumstances that lead to suicidal behaviour of immigrant and ethnic minority women may be different from the population of the host countries. Methods: A systematic literature review of publications about precipitating and risk factors for suicidal behaviour of immigrant and ethnic minority women in Europe was conducted. Results: 24 publications met the inclusion criteria. Five central themes emerged. (1) Familial problems, such as domestic violence, and pressures from the community were deemed important precipitating factors, whereas (2) psychiatric disorders, previous psychiatric history/treatment, and previous suicide attempts were less common among immigrant and ethnic minority women. (3) Issues related to migration, such as acculturative stress and discrimination, as well as (4) sociodemographic variables, such as being of young age were commonly reported factors. Lastly, (5) barriers for help-seeking such as the fear of stigmatization, and discrimination can cause a suicidal crisis when women feel they are in a desperate situation that they cannot escape. Conclusions: The risk and precipitating factors for suicidality of immigrant and ethnic minority women differ from the ones immigrant men and women in the host countries have. However, more in-depth and good-quality quantitative and qualitative research is needed to better understand the interface of gender, suicidal behaviour, ethnicity, and immigration.