- Finds increased risks among females, under-18 school leavers, and those in households that are poorer or see problematic alcohol use
- Marecek’s “Culture, gender, and suicidal behaviour in Sri Lanka. Suicide and life-threatening behaviour” describes specific crises involving interpersonal relationships, school failures, and family conflicts as propagating self-harming behaviour in young girls. Parental control, restrictions and surveillance-concerning privacy, self-determination, and the freedom of movement affect young girls in Sri Lanka (J. Marecek and C. Senadheera’s “‘I drank it to put an end to me’: Narrating girls suicide and self-harm in Sri Lanka”). Often, these struggles were linked to parents’ standards of female sexual propriety, and cultural standards for women (per Marecek). With stereotypical gender roles, younger females have fewer socially acceptable ways of expressing their emotions of unhappiness or anger, in a largely hierarchical culture where overt confrontation is disapproved of and stigmatised (T. Rajapakse and S. Tennakoon’s “Gender differences in suicide in Sri Lanka – What does it tell us?”). Higher rates amongst young females may be explained by Marecek and Senadheera finding young women using self-harm (regardless of suicidal intent) to communicate what they find difficult to verbalise. Termed “dialogue suicides”, these acts were expressive, directed, and intended as communication, Fernando et al. observed. Marecek and Senadheera found that the nature of attempted suicide as “dialogue” and communication, acts often with limited association with mental illness.