In this article a controlled study of the family structure of a South African Indian parasuicide population is described. Twenty subjects from a local general hospital were scored on the Suicidal Intent Scale (SIS) and the Family Assessment Device (FAD). Twenty matched medical patients without a history of parasuicide were selected from the same hospital as a control group. They were matched for age, sex, educational standard, ethnic group and socio-economic status. All subjects were scored on the Family Assessment Device (FAD). Subjects from both groups were re-tested between six to eight weeks after the initial assessment. Analyses of variance indicated significant differences between the two groups on indicators of family interactional pathology. This seems to be compounded by family stresses emanating from socio-cultural transition. The results of the study support the view that family therapy should be implemented in the treatment of parasuicide. The unique population under study provides cross-cultural data relevant to parasuicide research and invites possibilities for further investigation.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AldridgeD. (1984). Family interaction and suicidal behaviour: A brief review. Journal of Family Therapy, 4, 309–322.
2.
AldridgeD. (1988). Goal setting: The patient's assessment of outcome and recognition of therapeutic change. Complementary Medical Research, 2, 89–97.
3.
AldridgeD.DallosR. (1986). Distinguishing families where suicidal behaviour is present from families where suicidal behaviour is absent. Journal of Family Therapy, 8, 243–252.
4.
AldridgeD.RossiterJ. (1984). A strategic assessment of deliberate self harm. Journal of Family Therapy, 6, 113–129.
5.
AmodZ.ShmuklerD., (1986). Sexual attitudes and behaviour of Indian South African adolescents. South African Journal of Psychology, 16, 21–26.
6.
BavelasJ. (1984). On ‘Naturalistic’ family research. Family Process, 23, 337–340.
7.
BeckA.T.SchuylerD.HermanL. (1974). Development of suicidal intent scales. In BeckA.T.ResnikH.L.P.LettieriD.J. (Eds), The prediction of suicide (pp. 45–56). Bowie, M.D: Charles Press.
8.
BeckR.W.MorrisJ.B.BeckA.T. (1974). Cross-validation of the Suicidal Intent Scale. Psychological Reports, 34, 445–446.
9.
Beit-HallamiB. (1975). Religion and suicidal behavior. Psychological Reports, 37, 1303–1306.
10.
BellG.L.BellD.C. (1982). Family climate and the role of the female adolescent: Determinants of adolescent functioning. Family Relations, 31, 519–527.
11.
BhamjeeM. (1984). The epidemiology of parasuicide at R.K. Khan Hospital. Unpublished M. Med. dissertation, University of Natal, Durban.
12.
BhanaA. (1978). Assessment of Indian attempted suicides. In SchlebuschL., (Ed), The vulnerable: Understanding and preventing suicide. Durban: Life Line.
13.
BhanaA. (1981). A study of certain personality, demographic and related variables among Indian female attempted suicides. Unpublished M.A. thesis, University of Durban-Westville, Durban.
14.
BhanaK. (1984) Indian parents and their youth: Some perceived and actual differences. South African Journal of Sociology, 15, 124–128.
15.
BhanaK., (1987). Perceived competence in school functioning of Indian children. South African Journal of Psychology, 17, 1–32.
16.
BirtchnellJ. (1981). Some familial and clinical characteristics of female suicidal psychiatric patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 138, 381–390.
17.
BishopD.S. (1985). The McMaster Model of family functioning. Paper presented at the 5th National Congress of the Association of Child Psychology, Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines. University of Cape Town.
18.
BlanchardJ.D.BlanchardE.L.RollS. (1976). A psychological autopsy of an Indian adolescent suicide with implications for community services. Suicide and Life Threatening Behaviour, 6, 3–10.
19.
BonnarJ.W.McGeeR.K. (1977). Suicidal behaviour as a form of communication in married couples. Suicide and Life Threatening Behaviour, 7, 7–16.
20.
BoschB.A.SchlebuschL.WesselsW.H. (1987). Trends in adult parasuicide in an urban environment. South African Journal of Psychology, 17, 100–106.
21.
British Medical Journal (1981). Editorial: Children and Parasuicide, 283, 337–338.
22.
BurkeA.W. (1974). Socio-cultural aspects of attempted suicide among women in Trinidad and Tobago. British Journal of Psychiatry, 125, 375–377.
23.
BurkeA.W. (1976). Attempted suicide among Asian immigrants in Birmingham. British Journal of Psychiatry, 128, 528–533.
24.
CassorlaR.M. (1984). Caracteristicas das familias de jouvensque tentaram suicidio en Campinas, Brazil: Um estudo comparaivo com jovens normais e psiquitricos. (Characteristics of families of juvenile suicides in Campinas, Brazil: A comparative study of normal and psychiatrically ill juveniles.)Acta Psiquiàtrica y Psicolgica de America Latina, 30, 125–134.
25.
ChandrasenaR. (1981). A transcultural evaluation of ‘self poisoning’ in Sri Lanka. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 27, 119–123.
26.
CheethamR.W.S.EdwardsS.D.NaidooL.R.GriffithsJ.A.SinghJ.V. (1983). Deculturation as a precipitant of parasuicide in an Asian Group. South African Medical Journal, 63, 942–945.
27.
CorderB.F.PageV.CorderR.F. (1974). Parental history, family communication and interaction patterns in adolescent suicide. Family Therapy, 1, 285–290.
28.
CrouchM.A. (1987). The family in medical practice. New York: Springer.
29.
DavisJ.M. (1985). Suicidal crises in schools. School Psychology Review, 14, 313–324.
30.
DizmangL.H. (1967). Suicide among the Cheyenne Indians. Bulletin of Suicidology, 8–11.
31.
DizmangL.H.WatsonJ.MayP.A.BoppJ. (1974). Adolescent suicide at an Indian reservation. American Journal of Ortho-psychiatry, 44, 43–49.
32.
DorpatT.BoswellJ. (1963). An evaluation of suicidal intent in suicide attempts. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 4, 117–125.
33.
EdwardsS.D.CheethamR.W.S.NaidooL.R.GriffithsJ.A. (1981). Parasuicide in the Durban Indian community. South African Medical Journal, 60, 241–243.
34.
EngelG.L. (1977). The need for a new medical model: A challenge for biomedicine. Science, 196 (4286), 129–136.
35.
EngelbrechtG.K. (1971). Suicide in Johannesburg: A socio-ecological study. Durban: Drakensberg Press.
36.
EpsteinN.B.BaldwinL.M.BishopD.S. (1983). The McMaster Family Assessment Device. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 9, 171–180.
37.
EpsteinN.B.BishopD.S.BaldwinL.M. (1982). McMaster Model of Family Functioning: A view of the normal family. In WalshF. (Ed.), Normal family processes (pp. 77–91). New York: Guildford.
38.
EpsteinN.B.BishopD.S.LevinS. (1978). The McMaster Model of Family Functioning. Journal of Marriage and Family Counselling, 4, 19–31.
39.
FarberM.L. (1977). Factors determining the incidence of suicide within families. Suicide and Life Threatening Behaviour, 7, 3–6.
40.
FarberowN.L. (1973). Research in suicide. In ResnikH.L.P., (Ed.), Suicide prevention in the seventies (pp. 45–80). Maryland: NIMH.
41.
FarberowN.L. (1987). The role of the family in suicide. In DiekstraR.F.HawtonK., (Eds), Suicide in adolescence (pp. 139–152). Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff.
42.
GehlotP.S.NathawatS.S. (1983). Suicide and family constellation in India. American Journal of Psychotherapy, XXXVII(2), 273–278.
43.
GroveO.LyngeJ. (1979). Suicide and attempted suicide in Greenland. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 60, 375–391.
44.
HaleyJ. (1980). Leaving home: The therapy of disturbed young people. New York: McGraw-Hill.
45.
HawtonK. (1982). Attempted suicide in children and adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology, Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 23, 497–503.
46.
HawtonK. (1986). Suicide and attempted suicide amongst children and adolescents. London: Sage.
47.
HaynesR.H. (1984). Suicide in Fiji: A preliminary study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 433–438.
HurbansN.M. (1979). A study of the attitudes of Indian children and adolescents towards in-groups and out-groups. Unpublished M.A. thesis, University of Durban-Westville, Durban.
50.
IshiiK. (1981). Adolescent self-destructive behaviour and crisis intervention in Japan. Suicide and Life Threatening Behaviour, 11, 51–56.
51.
JithooS. (1975). Fission of the Hindu joint-family system in Durban. University of Durban-Westville Journal, 2(3), 55–62.
52.
KaderS.K. (1986). An investigation into family functioning in parasuicides among Indian South Africans in Durban. Unpublished M. Med. thesis, University of Natal, Durban.
53.
KeitnerG.I.MillerI.W.FruzzettiA.E.EpsteinN.B.BishopD.S.NormanW.H. (1987). Family functioning and suicidal behaviour in psychiatric inpatients with major depression. Psychiatry, 50, 242–255.
54.
KerfootM. (1980). The family context of adolescent suicidal behavior. Journal of Adolescence, 3, 335–346.
55.
KerfootM. (1987). Family therapy and psychotherapy following suicidal behaviour by young adolescents. In DiekstraR.F.HawtonK. (Eds), Suicide in adolescence (pp. 95–111). Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff.
56.
Landau-StantonJ.GriffithsJ.A.MasonJ. (1982). The extended family in transition: Clinical implications. In KaslowF. (Ed), The international book of family therapy (pp. 360–372). New York: Brunner/Mazel.
57.
LevensteinJ.H. (1988). Family medicine and the new science. S.A. Family Practice, 9, 11–17.
58.
McAnarney, (1979). Adolescent and young adult suicide in the United States — a reflection of societal unrest?Adolescence, 14, 765–774.
MeerF. (1964). Suicide in Durban: A study of suicide patterns among Indians, Europeans, Africans and Coloureds. Unpublished M. Soc. Sc. thesis, University of Natal, Durban.
61.
MeerF. (1969). Portrait of Indian South Africans. Durban: Avon House.
62.
MeerF. (1976). Race and suicide in South Africa. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
63.
MehrM.ZeltzerL.K.RobinsonR. (1981). Continued self-destructive behaviours in adolescent suicide attempters. Journal of Adolescent Health Care, 1, 269–274.
64.
MinnaarG.K.SchlebuschL.LevinA. (1980). A current study of parasuicide in Durban. South African Medical Journal, 57, 204–207.
65.
MolinR.S. (1986). Covert suicide and families of adolescents. Adolescence, 21, 177–184.
66.
MorganH.G. (1979). Death wishes? The understanding and management of deliberate self-harm. Chichester: Wiley.
67.
NaidooL.R. (1977). An investigation of the interrelationships between marital adjustment, personal adjustment and role discrepancy among urban Indians. Unpublished M. Sc. thesis, University of Durban-Westville, Durban.
68.
NealeJ.M.LiebertR.M. (1980). Science and behavior: An introduction to methods of research (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
69.
NelM.M.A. (1981). Perceptions of the suicidal adolescent. Unpublished M.A. thesis, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg.
70.
OlsenD.H.McCubbinH.I.BarnesH.LarsenA.MaxenM.WilsonM. (1985). Family inventories. Minnesota: Family Social Science.
71.
PandeyR.E. (1968). The suicide problem in India. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 14, 193–200.
72.
PandeyR.E. (1985). The aetiology of suicide in India today. Journal of Social Work, 45, 429–439.
PennebakerJ.W. (1982). The psychology of physical symptoms. New York: Springer-Verlag.
75.
PfefferC.R. (1981). The family system of suicidal children. American Journal of Psychotherapy, XXXV(3), 330–341.
76.
PfefferC.R. (1987). Families of suicidal children. In DiekstraR.F.HawtonK. (Eds), Suicide in adolescence (pp. 127–137). Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff.
77.
PhilipA.E.McCullochJ.W. (1970). Test-retest characteristics of a group of attempted suicide patients. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 34, 144–147.
78.
PierceD.W. (1981). The predictive validation of a suicide intent scale: A five year follow-up. British Journal of Psychiatry, 139, 391–396.
79.
PillayP. (1984). An investigation into those factors which may predispose to or precipitate suicidal behaviour amongst Indian school children. Unpublished M. SW. thesis, University of Durban-Westville, Durban.
80.
PillayA.PillayY.G. (1987). A study of deliberate self-harm at a Pietermaritzburg general hospital. South African Medical Journal, 72, 258–259.
81.
PillayA.SchlebuschL. (1987). Parasuicide among Indian adolescents: Some cultural perspectives. South African Journal of Psychology, 17, 107–110.
82.
RamphalC. (1960). A study of three current problems of Indian education. Unpublished Doctoral thesis, University of Durban-Westville, Durban.
83.
RaoV.A. (1975). Suicide in India. In FarberowN.L. (Ed), Suicide in different cultures (pp. 231–238). Baltimore: University Park Press.
84.
ResnikH.L.P. (1981). Suicide. In KaplanH.I.SadockB.J. (Eds), Modern synopsis of comprehensive textbook of psychiatry (3rd ed.) (pp. 2085–2098). London: Williams & Wilkins.
85.
RichmanJ. (1978). Symbiosis, empathy and suicidal behaviour and the family. Suicide and Life Threatening Behaviour, 8, 139–148.
86.
RichmanJ. (1979). Family therapy of attempted suicide. Family Process, 18, 131–142.
87.
RichmanJ. (1980). Suicide and infantile fixations. Suicide and Life Threatening Behaviour, 10, 3–9.
88.
RichmanJ. (1986). Family therapy for suicidal people. New York: Springer.
89.
RosenbaumM.RichmanJ. (1970). Suicide: The role of hostility and death wishes from the family and significant others. American Journal of Psychotherapy, XXVI, 128–131.
90.
RoyA. (1983). Family history of suicide. Archives of General Psychiatry, 40, 971–974.
91.
SchlebuschL. (1985). Self-destructive behaviour in adolescents, South African Medical Journal, 68, 792–795.
92.
SchlebuschL. (1986). Short-term precipitants of parasuicide in adolescents. South African Medical Journal, 70, 165–167.
93.
SchlebuschL.LuizH.A.BoschB.A.LevinA. (1986). On suicide in a South African general hospital psychiatric inpatient unit. South African Journal of Psychology, 16, 15–20.
94.
SchwartzmanJ. (1984). Family theory and the scientific method. Family Process, 23, 223–236.
95.
SegalL. (Ed.). (1982). What is to be done about the family? Crisis in the eighties. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
96.
ShoreJ.H. (1975). American Indian suicide: Fact and fantasy. Psychiatry, 38, 87–91.
97.
TuckmanJ.YoungmanW.F.LeiferB. (1966). Suicide and family disorganization. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 12, 187–191.
98.
WassenaarD.R. (1987a). Researching family therapy. South African Journal of Psychology, 17, 25–29.
99.
WassenaarD.R. (1987b). Brief strategic family therapy and the management of adolescent Indian parasuicide patients in the general hospital setting. South African Journal of Psychology, 17, 93–99.
100.
WenzF.V. (1976). Social areas and Durkheim's theory of suicide. Psychological Reports, 38, 1313–1314.
101.
WenzF.V. (1978). Economic status, family anomie and adolescent suicide potential. Journal of Psychology, 98, 45–47.
102.
WenzF.V. (1982). Family constellation factors and parent suicide potential. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 170, 270–274.
103.
WilliamsC.LyonsC.M. (1976). Family interaction and adolescent suicidal behaviour. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 10, 243–252.
104.
WrightL.S. (1982). Parental permission to date and its relationship to drug use and suicidal thoughts among adolescents. Adolescence, 17, 409–418.
105.
YampeyN. (1975). Suicide in Buenos Aires: Social and cultural influences. In FarberowN.L. (Ed.), Suicide in different cultures (pp. 51–76). Baltimore: University Park Press.
106.
YesavageJ.A.WidrowL. (1985). Early parental discipline and adult self-destructive acts. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 173, 74–77.
