A UK psychiatrist draws on his earlier experience as a police surgeon in Africa to compare homicide and suicide rates among the Xhosa tribe with those of England and Wales. A consideration of depression in primitive communities may, he suggests, provide the explanation for the low suicide rate found.
The article speculates whether the vastly different homicide/suicide rate found can be explained in terms of aggression and civilization.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AsuniT. (1961) Suicide in Western Nigeria. B.M.J.2, 1091–1097.
2.
BarracloughB. M. (1973) Differences between national suicide rates. Brit. J. Psychiat.122, 95–6.
3.
BenedictP. K.JacksI. (1954) Mental illness in primitive societies. Psychiatry17, 377–99.
4.
BiniticA. (1975) A factor analytic study of depression across cultures (African and European). Brit. J. Psychiat.127, 559–563.
5.
BohannanP. (1960) African Homicide and Suicide.Princeton University Press.
6.
CarstairsG. M.KapurR. L. (1976) The Great Universe of Kota: Change and Mental Disorder in an Indian Village.London, Hogarth Press.
7.
Central Statistical Office (1973) Annual Abstract of Statistics, 1973. London, H.M.S.O.
8.
D.H.S.S. (1975) Inpatient Statistics: Mental Health Enquiry England 1975, H.M.S.O.
9.
DurkheimE. (1951) Suicide. Trans. by SpauldingJ. A.SimpsonG.Illinois, The Free Press.
10.
ElsarragM. E. (1968) Suicide in the northern Sudan. Brit. J. Psychiat.114, 1057.
11.
FouldsG. A. (1976) The Hierarchical Nature of Personal Illness.London, Academic Press.
12.
JonesI. H.HorneD. J. (1972) Diagnosis of psychiatric disorders among tribal aboriginals. Medical Jl. of Australia1, 345–9.
13.
McCarthyP.WalshD. (1966) Suicide in Dublin. B.M.J., 1, 1393.
14.
MoriceR. (1978) Psychiatric diagnosis in a transcultural setting. Brit. J. Psychiat.132, 87–95.
15.
Office of Health Economics (1976) Murder, manslaughter and infanticide. Briefing No. 4.
16.
RobinsE.MurphyG. E.WilkinsonR. H.GassnerS.KayesJ. (1959) Some clinical considerations in the prevention of suicide based on a study of 134 successful suicides. Amer. J. Publ. Hlth.49, 888–898.
17.
SainsburyP. (1968) Recent developments in affective disorders. Brit. J. Psychiat. Special Publication No. 2. Headley, Ashford.
18.
WalkerN. D. (1965) Crime and Punishment in Britain. Univ. Press Edinburgh.
