Suicidality of Indigenous Teenagers as an Anomic Adaptation to Frustration: An Empirical Test (Correlates of Indigenous Teenage Suicidality).

INTRODUCTION

This study advances a frustration-suicidality thesis, conceptualizing suicidality as an anomic adaptation to frustrations experienced by Indigenous adolescents.

METHODS

Using a subsample from the Aboriginal People's Survey 2017 (released 2023), we examine suicidal ideation among Indigenous adolescents aged 15 to 18 years in Canada with weighted least squares regression. Frustration is operationalized through indicators of unfulfilled life conditions, including school dropouts, functional disability, residential instability, and unmet medical needs.

RESULTS

The regression model explains 32.2% of the variance in suicidality. Consistent with expectations, frustration, proxied by school dropouts, functional disability, residential instability, and unmet medical needs, is significantly associated with suicidal ideation. Self-rated mental health emerges as the strongest correlate. Food insecurity, smoking, and alcohol use are also linked to higher levels of suicidal ideation.

CONCLUSION

This is the first systematic analysis of suicidality among teenage Indigenous Canadians. The findings highlight the central role of frustration in adolescent suicidality. Effective prevention strategies should address both mental health and physical disability, while also reducing structural barriers such as school dropout and unmet healthcare needs. Policy implications are considered in light of the study's data limitations.