The Phenomenon of Suicide Attempt by Young Female Suicide Survivors at a Selected Hospital in Thulamela Municipality, Vhembe District, Limpopo Province

Abstract

Suicidal behavior has become a serious public health concern worldwide. Globally, the rate of suicide increased by 60% in the past years. In South Africa, about 9.5 % of nonnatural deaths in young people is due to suicidal behavior, and there are 667 deaths due to suicide every month (Birmingham & Solihull, 2012). Suicide has left a trail of psychological problems which impact negatively on the health and well-being of people. Worldwide, there is a gender difference in suicidal behaviour. Women have higher rates of suicide attempt while men are more likely to commit suicide (Cheong, Choi, Cho, Yoon, Kim & Hwang, 2012). Most studies focus on suicide while suicide attempt has been neglected in scholarship. As a result, there is very little attention to how gender influences suicidal behavior in society. This exploratory study sought to explore the phenomenon of suicide attempt among young female suicide survivors at Tshilidzini Regional Hospital in Vhembe District in the Limpopo Province in South Africa. The study approach was qualitative in nature and the study population comprised of all young female suicide survivors and all family members who often accompanied patients to the hospital. Nonprobability convenience sampling technique was used to select the study participants. The study sample consisted of 20 participants (10 young female suicide survivors and 10 family members). Ethical considerations were taken into account to protect the participants. In-depth face-to-face unstructured interviews and focus group discussion were used as a method of data collection. Content analysis was used for analysing data in this study. The study found that suicidal behaviour by young females was mainly due to intimate relationship problems. The study recommended the development and use an effective suicide screening tool and a multi-pronged strategy to curb incidences of suicidal behaviour by young females.