Suicidal Behavior in Black South Africans
Abstract
Summary: In the past suicidal behavior among Black South Africans has been largely underresearched. Earlier studies among the other main ethnic groups in the country showed suicidal behavior in those groups to be a serious problem. This article briefly reviews some of the more recent research on suicidal behavior in Black South Africans. The results indicate an apparent increase in suicidal behavior in this group. Several explanations are offered for the change in suicidal behavior in the reported clinical populations. This includes past difficulties for all South Africans to access health care facilities in the Apartheid (legal racial separation) era, and present difficulties of post-Apartheid transformation the South African society is undergoing, as the people struggle to come to terms with the deleterious effects of the former South African racial policies, related socio-cultural, socio-economic, and other pressures.
References
Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders(4th edition) (DSM-IV).. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association (1994).
Crime and conflict, blasting carjacking.. Prosecution-Led Law Enforcement, (1999). 16, 37–40
Victims and the police. The national victims of crime survey.. Crime and Conflict, (1999). 16, 26–31
Acculturation as a precipitant of parasuicide in an Asian Group.. South African Medical Journal, (1983). 63, 942–945
Black attitudes in suicide.. In L Schlebusch (Ed.), Suicidal behavior (pp. 98-105). Proceedings of the First Southern African Conference on Suicidology. Durban: Department of Medically Applied Psychology, University of Natal, South Africa (1988).
Suicide and attempted suicide in a general hospital in Western Ethiopia.. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, (1985). 71, 596–600
Man the barricades. Gated communities in South Africa.. Crime and Conflict, (2000). 21, 24–26
Suicide patterns and trends in South Africa's population groups.. In L Schlebusch (Ed.), Suicidal behavior 2 (pp. 5-11). Proceedings of the Second Southern African Conference on Suicidology. Durban Department of Medically Applied Psychology, University of Natal, South Africa (1992).
Who suffers most The national victims of crime survey.. Crime and Conflict, (1999). 16, 32–36
Being black-in-the-world(p. 58).. Johannesburg: Spro-Cas/Ravan Press (1973).
Attitudes of black adolescents toward suicide.. In L Schlebusch (Ed.), Suicidal behavior 3 (pp. 46-52). Proceedings of the Second Southern African Conference on Suicidology. Durban: Department of Medically Applied Psychology, University of Natal, South Africa (1995).
People and violence in South Africa.. Cape Town: Oxford University Press (1990).
A current study of parasuicide in Durban.. South African Medical Journal, (1980). 57, 204–207
Suicide rate in Umtata 1971-1990.. In L Schlebusch (Ed.), Suicidal behavior 2 (pp. 9-22). Proceedings of the Second Southern African Conference of Suicidology. Durban: Department of Medically Applied Psychology, University of Natal, South Africa (1992).
Dynamics of acculturation and integration attitudes among African and Indian university students in South Africa.. Paper presented at 3rd Annual Psychological Society Congress of South Africa, September 1997, International Convention Center, Durban.
Parasuicide in a general hospital in South Africa.. Psychological Reports, (1993). 72, 979–982
Social support, self-efficacy and assertiveness as mediators of student stress.. Psychology, (1997). 34, 61–69
Seasonal variation in attempted suicide.. In L Schlebusch (Ed.), Suicidal behavior 3 (pp. 188-191). Proceedings of the Third Southern African Conference on Suicidology. Durban: Department of Medically Applied Psychology, University of Natal, South Africa (1995).
Psychological intervention to assist victims and others exposed to human rights violations in South Africa.. International Psychologist, (1997). 37–94
Parasuicide: A cross cultural comparison.. In L Schlebusch (Ed), Suicidal behavior (pp. 133-146). Proceedings of the First Southern African Conference on Suicidology. Durban: Department of Medically Applied Psychology, University of Natal, South Africa (1988).
Suicidal behavior 2.. Proceedings of the Second Southern African Conference on Suicidology. Durban: Department of Medically Applied Psychology, University of Natal, South Africa (1992).
Ed. Suicidal behavior 3.. Proceedings of the Third Southern African Conference on Suicidology. Durban: Department of Medically Applied Psychology, University of Natal, South Africa (1995).
Teenage suicide—prevention rather than cure.. Lifeline, (1997). 3, 2–3
Ed. South Africa beyond transition: Psychology well-being proceedings.. Pretoria: Psychological Society of South Africa (1998).
A doulble-blind, placebo-controlled, double-center study of the effects of an oral multivitamin-mineral combination on stress.. South African Medical Journal, (2000). 90, 1216–1223
Health beliefs of a sample of black patients attending a specialized medical facility.. South African Journal of Psychology, (1996). 26, 35–38
Eds. Suicidal behavior 4.. Proceedings of the Third Southern African Conference on Suicidology. Durban: Department of Medically Applied Psychology, University of Natal, South Africa (2000).
Theatre of terror. Responding to the cape bombings.. Crime and Conflict, (2000). 1, 5–10
Report on a workshop in suicide prevention for countries in the African Region. Port Lois, Mauritius, 13-15 October.. Geneva: WHO (1999).