"This book looks at the issue of youth suicide in the Irish context. It takes a specifically cultural approach - as opposed to psychological or medical - by addressing three fundamental question: "Why has there been an increase in suicide in Ireland in recent years?": "What changes has Ireland seen that might explain why it has a higher rate of suicide than in other countries?": and "Why is it that young Irish men experience the highest risk of suicide?" The authors attempt to answer these questions by examining how suicide is related to issues of culture, societal change, age and gender.

In particular, young men and trying to cope with a double layer of change alongside the deep personal transformations of adolescence, they must adjust to living in a profoundly altered society." "The book concludes with a summary of the factors which might lead to suicide, proposes a new, culture-based model, and discusses how their analysis might inform current suicide prevention programmes, offering specific suggestions on how they could be strengthened."--Jacket.