School of Social Welfare, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.
The Center for Social Welfare Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea.
Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2021 Dec;51(6):1235-1246. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12805. Epub 2021 Sep 29.
Suicide among North Korean (NK) refugee women is one of the most concerning public health problems in South Korea. Pre-resettlement trauma exposure and post-resettlement factors can contribute to suicide risk among NK refugee women; however, few studies have explored these associations.
This study aimed to assess suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among NK refugee women in South Korea (N = 212) and to examine the impact of pre-resettlement trauma exposure on suicide risk. Perceived social stigma and self-concealment in the post-resettlement phases were investigated as moderating factors for suicide risk related to trauma exposure using multiple regression analyses.
Trauma exposure significantly increased suicidal ideation severity and the risk of suicide attempt. Furthermore, perceived social stigma significantly moderated this relationship such that the impact of trauma exposure in the pre-resettlement phases was amplified as perceived social stigma increased.
Based on our study findings, professionals working with refugee populations should assess for perceived social stigma and exposure to traumatic events to reduce and prevent suicidal ideation and attempts.
朝鲜（NK）难民女性的自杀问题是韩国最令人关注的公共卫生问题之一。安置前的创伤暴露和安置后的因素都可能导致 NK 难民女性的自杀风险；然而，很少有研究探讨这些关联。
本研究旨在评估韩国 NK 难民女性（N=212）的自杀意念和自杀企图，并探讨安置前创伤暴露对自杀风险的影响。使用多元回归分析，研究了安置后阶段感知到的社会耻辱感和自我隐瞒作为与创伤暴露相关的自杀风险的调节因素。
创伤暴露显著增加了自杀意念的严重程度和自杀企图的风险。此外，感知到的社会耻辱感显著调节了这种关系，即随着感知到的社会耻辱感的增加，安置前阶段创伤暴露的影响被放大。
根据我们的研究结果，为了减少和预防自杀意念和企图，与难民群体合作的专业人员应该评估感知到的社会耻辱感和创伤事件的暴露情况。
