The following paper presents a critical review of the journal article “Protective Factors in the Inuit Population of Nunavut: A Comparative Study of People Who Died by Suicide, People Who Attempted Suicide, and People Who Never Attempted Suicide.” (Beaudoin, Séguin, Chawky, Affleck, Chachamovich, and Turecki (2018)conducted a secondary analysis of the data that was previously collected as part of a more extensive study of the psychological research conducted in Nunavut, Canada. The study was meant to identify protective factors in the Inuit population of Nunavut through comparison of people who died of suicide, people in the general populace who attempted suicide and those who have never attempted suicide. The study comprises of 90 participants with 30 participants from each group who were pairedby birth date, sex, and community.

According to the article, the research found that people with zero suicide attempt have more protective factors throughout their lives than the other two groups, while people with suicide attempts have differs largely with the other two groups concerning service use. The protective variables that emerge from the environmental dimensionreveal much more dissimilarity between the three groups; these factors were more pronounced among individuals with no suicide attempts. Therefore, the authors argued that the findings showed the need to create a more stable environment among the Inuit communities to prevent suicide. The article concluded that risk factors that cumulate over time might be the resultant of the prevalence of high suicide rates among the indigenous people in Inuit communities as well as the larger portion of indigenous people in Canada who have recorded one of the highest suicide rates in the world. The same argument might be valid for protective factors in that accumulation of protection might generate more stability over time, therefore introducing more protective factors early in the life cycle might results to the advancement of more protective factors over the lifespan thus reducing the probability of suicide.

Branswell (2012)concurs with the findings of the article; he stipulates that children and teenagers living in Inuit communities are roughly five times more likely to die than their counterparts from the rest of Canada. Inuit suicide rates are among the highest in the world, between the year 1999 and 2003 the rates average at 135 per 100000 that was ten times higher than the rest ofCanada. The Inuit population in Canada is comprised of about 60, 000 people with nearly half of them living in Nunavut ( Chachamovich, Kirmayer, & Haggarty, 2015). Comparing to the article, the primary explanation for this dramatic rise of suicide in the region can be understood on a structural and environmental level.

Several studies report that thiscan be explained from a historical point of view, historical traumas experienced by these populations and transmitted across generations. The article extends the course readings on an understanding of the indigenouspopulation of Canada. This is through the examination of various variables from historical perspectives through the modern era to understand the issues that are affected by the indigenous population in Canada. The primary argument is that the colonization and discrimination of aboriginal communities resulted in many social problems as well as destroying the integrity of communities that resulted in cultural confusion.

Secondly, one of the most cited issues of discussion in the aforementioned article is alack of mental health services adequately equipped to address the problems of Inuit suicide. Nelson & Wilson (2017)however, argue against this sentiments indicating that many scholars assert that the indigenous population suffers from the disproportionate burden of mental illness. They further stipulate that colonization and its associated processing are the significant determinants of the health issues amongst this population internationally. Boksa, Joober, and Kirmayer (2015) concur that there are significant mental health disparities among the indigenous communities that have been as a result of historical issues. These issues are such as the past trauma of the Indian residential school system that has an ongoing intergenerational effect on the psychological well-being of the aboriginal people. These are such as high rates of depression, suicidal thoughts and attempts and childhood abuse and neglect have been reported among adults whose parents or grandparents attended these schools.

The research found greater depression symptoms related to stressors such as discrimination, childhood adversity, and adult trauma. Therefore, this article suggested that mental health services among the Inuit communities might not be adequatelyequipped to address issues of Inuit suicide. The aboriginal communities have questioned the adequacy of the mental health services offered, and this is because the mental health interventions such as the suicide prevention programs are not congruent with the indigenous culture and beliefs.

Lastly, lack of economic prosperity is among the primary points emphasized in the article for the high rates of suicide in the region. The authors stipulate that limited employment opportunities, unemployment and plow living standards are some of the most overlooked issues among the Inuit communities. Overcrowded houses have been identified as risk factors for the indigenous population. Researchers argue that such environmental factors can act as current reminders of historical traumas that reinforce both personal and public distressing narratives and undermining of individual health and community at large. Thorau, (2009) argues that the aboriginal population is young and growing but the underemployment is primarily due to a lack of formal education qualifications, this is also a common reason for the limited employment opportunities among the Inuit communities. Therefore the article argues that this lack of suitable employment of opportunities lead to low standards of living and after that a resultant of the high suicide rates in the region.

These economic conditions have occurred and continue to happen within the context of colonization, social exclusion, and political and economic marginalization. From a historical perspective, argues that the aboriginal economies were subsistence oriented and were organized around activities such as fishing, hunting, and gathering. These factors influencedthe organization of the aboriginal groups such as settlements size and duration, the division of about amongst genders and interactions with other groups. Surplus products lead to trading activities amongst different indigenous groups thus these opportunities provided opportunities such as building prestige, establishing and strengthening of alliance and resolving disputes (Trovato & Pedersen, 2015). The formalization of the economic activities and disruption of these patterns can be primarily attributedto the current economic disparities and high suicide rates among the Inuit population and the aboriginal community at large.

The article aimed to develop a better understanding of the protective factors for suicidal behavior among the Inuit populace in Canada. These results could help in determining the effective prevention strategies that could be useful for the population. However, the article focuses mainly on the predetermined causes of high suicide rates that have also been identified in several other reports. Several research has found out, most of the study based on the aboriginal communities focuses on issues that are common in these regions such as historical traumas, economic disparities, mental health issues and social impacts of colonialization to the modern aboriginal communities. However, they fail to touch more on the current problems that are affecting these communities. These issues can be assessed by conducting thorough research inside these communities and identifying the changes that have taken place from the historical era and how individual communities have adapted to these changes.

Further research can be done to identify individual characteristics of each community and the most probable economic opportunities that are most fit for the population, the most efficient mental health interventions and the most effective recompilation methods that can help reduce the high rate of suicide among the Inuit population. This can be done by incorporating some of the cultural aspects and allowing the communities to determine their most preferred mode of interventions to their issues. Contrary to the article, much more protective factorscan be identified by involving the Inuit population and identifying their most burning issues and how they prefer the problems to be solved. The general overview of the suicide rates as determined by the article is restrictive and thus requires a broader perspective rather than the commonly identified issues in most of the articles. Overall, the general identification of the protective factors in the Inuit population helps in determining the key issues that affect the Aboriginal communities and thus creates a better understanding of future research.

References

Chachamovich, E., Kirmayer, L., & Haggarty, J. (2015). Suicide Among Inuit: Results From a Large, Epidemiologically Representative Follow-Back Study in Nunavut. Can J Psychiatry, 268-275.

Beaudoin, V., Séguin, M., Chawky, N., Affleck, W., Chachamovich, E., & Turecki, G. (2018). Protective Factors in the Inuit Population of Nunavut: A Comparative Study of People Who Died by Suicide, People Who Attempted Suicide, and People Who Never Attempted Suicide. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 1-16.

Boksa, P., Joober, R., & Kirmayer, L. (2015). Mental wellness in Canada’s Aboriginal communities: striving toward reconciliation. J Psychiatry Neurosci, 363-265.

BRANSWELL, H. (2012). Death, suicide rates among Inuit kids soar over the rest of Canada. The Canadian Press.

Nelson, S., & Wilson, K. (2017). The mental health of Indigenous peoples in Canada: A critical review of research. Social Science & Medicine, 93-112.

Thorau, P. (2009). First Nations And Economic Prosperity In The Coming Decade. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.472.1177&rep=rep1&type=pdf.

Trovato, ., & Pedersen, A. (2015). Economic Conditions of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. The Canadian Encyclopedia, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/aboriginal-people-economic-conditions.

 
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