‘In Guyana, suicide and self-inflicted injury accounted for 41 certified deaths in 1997, 35 in 1998, 164 in 1999, and 169 in 2005.’

‘Since 1954, suicide rates have increased by 60 per cent globally, and is the three leading causes of death among people of both sexes aged 15 through 44, according to the WHO.’

‘The increased suicide rate in Guyana points to the need for effective prevention intervention based on an application of both sociological and psychological perspectives. Any half-baked approach will stagnate prevention intervention.’

HERE IS how an adolescent girl described her suicide attempt:
“As a teenager, I basically had no friends, no interests at all. I stayed home. I felt very insecure around people, like I wasn’t worthy to be around them. I’d skip classes; I’d be in the john crying. It finally got to the point where I begged my parents to let me quit. My grades were suffering terribly. So, my father signed the papers, and after that, all I heard from my father was, ‘You flukey, jukey bird,’ because I quit school. Well, I loved my father, but he drank and beat my mother, and would bust up the house. She left with us kids several times. Basically, I stayed in my room and I reached the point where I didn’t want to be alive (Stephens, 1987).”

Suicide is the ninth-ranking cause of death in Guyana. In Guyana, suicide and self-inflicted injury accounted for 41 certified deaths in 1997, 35 in 1998, 164 in 1999, and 169 in 2005. More males than females committed suicide in Guyana – 189 males, and 51 females for the three years 1997-99; Guyana also chalked up 160 and 169 suicides in years 2000 and 2001, respectively. And 127 males and 42 females committed suicide in 2005. Guyana’s suicide rate is about 20 per 1000 persons, which means that there are about 200 cases per year. In 2006, 202 deaths were recorded, according to the Minister of Health.

And today, suicide is the 11th ranking cause of death in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US indicated that suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people aged 15 through 24; there were 33,300 reported suicides in the US in 2006. Suicide is a public health problem in the US by virtue of the fact that about 32,000 persons commit suicide each year, and about 395,000 engage in self-inflicted injuries requiring medical treatment. Globally, the highest rank for male suicides is found in Lithuania, and China has the highest rank for female suicides, as reported by the International Academy for Suicide Research in 1998. The World Health Organisation (WHO) indicated that in 2000, about 1 million people worldwide would have died from suicide. Since 1954, suicide rates have increased by 60 per cent globally, and is one of the three leading causes of death among people of both sexes aged 15 through 44, according to the WHO. In a third of the world, the WHO reported that suicide rates among young people are so alarmingly high that today they are classified as the highest risk group.

What makes a person take his/her own life?
Let’s start with a definition of suicide, and then try to explain in this section why it occurs. Suicide is the intentional destruction of one’s life. Suicide, therefore, is a deliberate act. Some sociological explanations follow:

1). Suicide varies inversely with the extent of social constraint exerted on the individual, according to Maris (1969). Social constraint refers to rules and shared ideas by which an individual’s life is regulated and integrated. That is, the greater the social constraint on the person, the lower the probability of suicide. The lower the social constraint, like in cases of social isolation, the higher the probability of suicide.

2). Suicide varies inversely with the degree of status integration in the society (Gibbs & Martin, 1958, 1964). Suicide acts are higher in situations of minimum status integration. If the many statuses or positions a person holds in society are closely linked (high status integration), then chances are that the probability of suicide will be low. In effect, a high level of role conflict (low status integration) with the many positions held could induce suicide acts.

3). Suicide varies positively with status frustration (Henry & Short, 1954). A person may become so frustrated at the loss of status relative to others in the same system, that he/she feels like killing themselves. So, the higher the status frustration, the greater the chance of a suicide act.

4). Suicide varies positively with migration rates (Stack, 1980). High migration rates place people in the host society, where it may take some time before they feel they are part of the new society. Also, in societies with high migration rates, some people are left behind, eagerly awaiting immigration papers that will enable them to travel to the host country. This waiting could now take years, as in the case of the US. In this situation, the person waiting may not adjust well to an almost permanent absence of relatives, like siblings, or a mother and/or a father. In such cases, the person in question could experience trauma. Therefore, loss of a dear relative is experienced at both ends of the migration continuum, that is, in both the donor and host societies. According to Stack, chances are that societies with high migration rates could have a high suicide rate.

5). Suicidal behaviour can be learned. Akers (1985) provides two learning paths to committing suicide. The first is learning to behave suicidally, but not fatally, and later arriving at a suicidal point. The second path is learning and building on a readiness of committing suicide, and then actually being successful at the act.

These theories generally attempt to explain suicide as occurring because of a lack of social integration in people’s social relations, the presence of social disorganization, and using the socialization perspective. It was Durkheim’s study of suicide in 1897 that pointed out the relationship between suicide rate and social integration. He argued that the suicide rate could not be explained through the personal characteristics of individuals, but only through the amount of social cohesion or social integration in the society. It needs to be said, however, that the majority of people experiencing a lack of social cohesion in their relations do not commit suicide.

How do people come to commit suicide? What is their state of mind when they are on the threshold of committing the act? People contemplating suicide are not mentally deranged, or experiencing insanity. Since suicides are intentional, mental disorders may hinder suicide. Litman (1987) said: “Mental disorders or developmental deficiencies that reduce the capacity for planning and deliberation, and that prevent the psychological organization of sequential actions, greatly reduce the potential for suicide.” Suicides, on the whole, therefore, are rationally planned

In the Maris’ study (1981) of suicides in Chicago from 1966 through 1968, a conclusion deduced is as follows: There is no question that depression was important in the research, but hopelessness seemed to have more significance than depression. Hawton (1986) said the following about adolescents who attempted suicides: “The main feelings that appear to precede attempts by adolescents are anger, feeling lonely or unwanted, and worries about the future. A sense of hopelessness is a major factor distinguishing depressed adolescents who make attempts from similar adolescents who do not.”

Which of the two, depression or hopelessness, has a greater importance in producing suicidal thoughts? This is important to know in the development of preventive intervention. A study by Rudd (1990) supports hopelessness as a major factor. However, lack of social cohesion, social disorganization, and socialization generally precede both depression and hopelessness. So, preventive intervention would need to first address the preceding factors. If this stage is successful, then there is no need to tackle hopelessness and depression.

The increased suicide rate in Guyana points to the need for effective prevention intervention based on an application of both sociological and psychological perspectives. Any half-baked approach will stagnate prevention intervention.