Abstract:
This study focused on perceived casual factors of suicide in Kabwe urban. The need for the study
emanated from an apparent increase of actual and attempted suicides. The phenomena of suicide
and suicidal behaviour are global public health concerns, in developed and developing countries
alike, and certainly not unique to Zambia. Despite the global and national significance of suicide
there is a dearth of information relating to causes and strategies to significantly reduce suicide
cases. Thus this study aimed to contribute to the body of knowledge of causes of suicide from
perceptions of relevant people. The study attempted to contribute to knowledge relating to
strategies that can be employed to significantly reduce its occurrence. The study adopted a
mixed-methods approach and was conducted over two main phases to meet its objectives. It
relied on an essentially qualitative method to explore the causes of suicide. Qualitative method
was utilized to explore perspectives of the causes and strategies needed to reduce suicide cases.
Purposive sampling was used to come up with the study sample, which was then subjected to
random sampling (quantitative method) to select the 98 respondents.
The findings indicated that family disputes, poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, marital disputes,
and mental disorders were the main causes of suicide cases. Males were found to be more likely
to commit suicide than, females. The consequences of suicidal behaviour differed depending on
whether the suicide act resulted in death or not. In cases of suicide attempts, it was found that
victims were left with physical injury, whose extent was dependent on factors which include how
serious the intent was and the method used.
The results indicate need for policy interventions to effectively prevent suicide at all levels. One
is the adoption of a multi-sectoral approach that allows stakeholders in the education, family,
health, social welfare, youth and gender sectors, to share practices and collaborate. In practice
this could take the form of a National Platform for the stakeholders to coordinate and work in
concert to address this phenomenon and its variants. This approach is important because any loss
of life through suicidal acts was found to have significant consequences on the social, economic
and health wellbeing of affected people. Further research on causal factor of suicide would
complement interventions for reduction of suicide.
