Revue internationale de santé mentale et de psychiatrie

The pathway to suicide: insights from young adults in a remote, rural area of Pakistan

Lubna Ghazal

WHO (2019) report every year the estimated number of deaths by suicide worldwide was 800,000 every year, which mean every 40 seconds, someone die of suicide. While most of these suicide are attempted by young people and it is considered the second leading cause of death among those aged between 15 and 29 (WHO, 2019). Suicide attempts are increasing, particularly in developing countries such as Pakistan, where the incidence of self-harm and attempted suicide has become a serious issue and needs immediate attention. Few studies have explored the underlying cultural and sociological factors leading to youth suicide in the most deprived province of Pakistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral (GBC), where this study explored the perceptions about suicide among a sample of adolescents.

A qualitative, descriptive exploratory design was employed to study the phenomenon by examining secondary data analysis from an online student discussion forum at a university in Karachi, Pakistan. Content analysis was used to analyse the transcripts, resulting in an overarching theme “Cry for help”, which was further divided into five categories include: (i) cultural norms  (ii) parents as a whistle blower for rat race;  (iii) psychological issues ; (iv) seeking mental help- a challenge;  and (v) how can I be helped? Study findings offers valuable insights into risk factors leading to suicide among youth living in GBC. There is a need to develop infrastructure to increase accessibility to healthcare centers, and predominately access to mental healthcare workers in conducting risk assessment, recognizing the signs of suicide and managing the cases promptly. Multi-faceted strategies focusing on risk factors and underlying causes should also be addressed through the media, education, healthcare systems, and law enforcement agencies.

Keywords: Mental health, Suicide, Adolescents, Risk factors, Perceptions, Asia, Pakistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral

 Biography:

Lubna Ghazal  working as a professor in Pakistan.He has published more than 50 papers in reputed journals and presented in congresses. Also he has Cooperation as reviewer with reputed journals.

32nd International Conference on Mental and Behavioral Health, April 22-23, 2020

Abstract Citation:

Lubna Ghazal, The pathway to suicide: insights from young adults in a remote, rural area of Pakistan, Mental Health Congress 2020, 32nd International Conference on Mental and Behavioral Health, April 22-23, 2020