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Vaidah Mashangwa
THIS article was prompted by the recent spate of suicide cases involving college students around the country. Most readers felt that there was need to address the issue in today’s edition.

While suicide among the young is an unspoken subject within our community, it has cost the lives of our beloved young and talented youths. The suicide rate of children under 14 is increasing at an alarming rate while that of adolescents is rising even faster.

According to suicide.org, suicide is the second leading cause of death amongst college students. The first major cause being untreated depression which then consequently leads to suicide.

What parents and college authorities do not understand is that going to college is a very difficult transition period as students often feel lost, depressed, isolated, confused, anxious and inadequate and all this leads to depression.

The financial constraints might add more pressure to the students and also when they compare themselves with the financially stable students it affects them especially when they cannot afford to buy the day to day basics and when they cannot pay their fees in time.

It is important therefore for college authorities to ensure that these socio-economic issues are adequately addressed during the induction period. It is estimated that 1 in every 5 suffer from depression yet about 6 percent seek assistance. Besides, due to such high indicators of depression it is important for colleges to have a suicide programme for students.

Actually some students make or think of a suicide plan and that is the reason why they leave notes that can provide clues to their mental state and motivation. The three types of suicide are egoistic, dyadic and agenetic.

Egoistic suicide is a result of a victim’s inner torment which is philosophical or religious in nature. The dyadic suicide is interpersonal in nature and is influenced by unfulfilled wishes or needs, frustration and rage.

On the other hand agenetic suicide is characteristic of a person who has lost a sense of belonging and fails to participate in all human life activities.

Warning signs of suicidal tendencies include increase in alcohol and drug abuse, withdrawal from friends and social activities, hopelessness, trouble eating or sleeping, talking about death or suicide and preoccupation with death and dying.

According to research, about 73 percent of suicide attempts occur at home, 12 percent occur in public areas, 7 percent at college and 5 percent at a friend’s house . In 87 percent of the cases someone will be nearby and usually the parent.

This indicates that parents are in the best position to recognise and prevent suicidal behaviour among their children. Schools and colleges too should be in a position to identify signs of depression among college students.

Use of the firearm is one of the primary means of committing suicide in affluent societies followed by drug overdose. Next in order are hanging, jumping from heights or in front of moving vehicles or train.

Most suicide attempts occur where there is a high likelihood of rescue indicating that if the children or students are assisted they do not really want to end their lives.

The stability of families also plays a major role in suicide attempts. Family instability and a chaotic family atmosphere are correlated with suicide attempts. In such environments the children experience unpredictable traumatic events and have loss of parental care and guidance which might lead to stress and anger. The is need therefore to understand the characteristics that differentiate suicidal from non-suicidal students so that appropriate counselling is given well in time before the situation goes out of hand.

According to the book, Understanding Abnormal Behaviour, more suicides amongst college students occur near the beginning of the semester than in the other months of the year hence refuting the notion that suicide occurs in response to anxiety over the final examinations. By objective standards, most students who commit suicide are good performers.

The main problem is that at times such students are highly motivated to achieve and have unrealistic high expectations. In one recorded suicide case a student leaped to her death from her room because she had simply got a B instead of her unbroken strings of As.

When suicide occurs our thoughts immediately turn to the person who has taken his life yet the true victims of this tragedy are the family members, relatives and friends left behind to face the meaning of such an act.

Most parents have been left grieving for years after the death of their children while at college. The parents experience shock, denial and numbness. The act is often incomprehensible yet they still go through the motion of arranging the funeral as if the death had no personal meaning. The affected family members need a lot of support and counselling.

Immediate clues to suicide include verbal communication of the intent, giving away prized possessions, writing out a will, taking a lengthy trip, listing down personal things in order of priority and so on.

Once these clues are observed they should be taken seriously though the problem is that such clues at times are very subtle and hence people do not take them seriously.

Parents should therefore stay in touch with their children while they are at college, whether the college is near or far. If the college is very far, the parents can still chat by phone, Skype, send messages by email and phone.

The child should still feel that the support and love from the parents is still there. There might be need to visit the child occasionally and also to send provisions such as pocket money food and provisions every now and then.

Be sensitive when your child speaks to you so that you can pick up signs of stress and provide counselling. If you are depressed get assistance from your doctor or therapist because depression can worsen and cause suicidal tendencies

• Vaidah Mashangwa is a Provincial Development Officer, Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development Bulawayo. She can be contacted on 0772 111 592. e-mail [email protected].