Suicide among New Zealand Maori: is history repeating itself?

Suicide rates for New Zealanders identified as Maori were analysed for the period 1957-91 and compared with those for non-Maori people. Overall, Maori men had about half the risk of suicide of non-Maori men, and Maori women one-third the risk of non-Maori women. Nevertheless, there was a sharp increase in suicide rates for Maori aged 15-24 years during the period studied, with rates for the 1987-91 time period of 35.2/100,000 for men and 6.0/100,000 for women. These were similar to the high suicide rates of young non-Maori New Zealanders. Suicide among Maori in pre-European times appears to have been embedded in traditional culture and may have occurred particularly among bereaved women; today the pattern is one of high rates in young men who are likely to have been alienated from their culture.