1. Suicidal Behaviors Among Ethiopian Youth in Israel
Arnon Edelstein, Ph.D
Criminologist
Sapir college, Israel

2. :The Despair Index*
α=0.80* *Frequent feelings of hopelessness- 40% *Confronting problems without a solution Frequently- 48% *Frequent senses of powerlessness and helplessness in confronting with problems anymore- 31% *(those who were scored high on the index)

3. The despair index: Positive correlation with*:
*Suicidal thoughts and attempts *Substance use * Perception of parents as an improper and irrelevant address to refer to in a time of trouble *(Statistical significance for χ² and T tests)

4. The despair index: characteristics of the responders population
*Girls *Born in Ethiopia *In a state of exclusion or in transition between educational settings (χ² <0.05)

5. The Protection Index*
*α=0.80 *Social acceptability- 50% *a satisfactory hobby- 81% *Excellence in some area- 79% *Recruitment to the I.D.F- 73% *A positive self image- 91% *(characteristics of those who were score high on the index)

6. The protection index: Negative correlations with*:
*Suicidal thoughts and attempts *Substance use *Perception of parents as an improper and irrelevant address to refer to. *(Statistical significance for χ² and T tests)

7. The protection index: characteristics of the responders population
*Boys *Born in Israel *Feel accepted in educational and social settings (χ² < 0.05)

8. Conclusions:
*The main risk factors for suicidal behaviors found in this study: *Gender *School dropout and exclusion *Substance use *Depression and/ or despair

9. Unique risk factors to suicidal Behaviors among Ethiopian Youth:
*Inter- generational conflict *The norms of Ethiopian culture regarding adolescent *Stigmatization because skin color *Lack of parents control (mainly for girls)