Psychological aspects of pre-adolescence suicides in Chitral

Suicidal behaviour in pre-adolescence is a psychological dilemma and has increased during the past three decades in Pakistan. Chitral, which is the largest district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with an estimated population of 600,000. This district has been facing the problem of suicidal attempts in pre-adolescences from the last a couple of years which increased the public and policy concerns about the issue. Statically, suicide is a rare event but psychologically it is a silent preoccupation and issue for our culture, contemporary respectable humble society, media and for the many individuals and families whose lives have been touched by the suicide death of others. In recent years, youth suicides in Chitral has become a significant focus of government policy and planning. Much has been written on the subject of suicide but the field remains complex, perplexing, at time immensely sad. Recent reports and records show that incidences of pre-adolescence suicides are surprisingly high in Chitral. Given the relative frequency of pre-adolescence suicidal behaviour, knowledge regarding its etiology and prevention is of great importance. Being a psychologist, engagement with the issue of pre- adolescence suicide is in the context of clinical practice. The question arising to me is in the field of therapeutic and assessment. Here a multidisciplinary collaboration is vital that each discipline brings its own special contribution to the collaborative endeavor, so that we could bring a long lasting solution to this unwanted issue. Suicides are rated as completed suicides, attempted suicides or deliberate self harm and suicide ideation. We have noticed and aware about the complete suicides cases in Chitral, but attempted cases and suicidal ideations in children are the alarming sign which are unreported and may be much high than complete suicides cases. It needs collaborative work of all the organizations working for human rights, parents, teachers and all those who are in direct contact with the children for assessment and diagnosis of cases before suicidal attempt. Main psychological factors behind suicide is age, ethnicity, urban, and rural geography , history of previous attempt, psychiatric diagnosis, depression, substance used and dependency, conduct disorder, personal and family context, exposure to suicidal behavior of others, socioeconomic context and situational factors and pressure of family. My observation and perception towards the factors which created the suicide cases in district Chitral are rural and urban factor , rapid urbanization behavior of children, educational disadvantage, childhood and family adversity, psychopathology, individual and personal vulnerabilities, exposure to stressful life events and circumstances, social, cultural and contextual harassing environment, enforced marriage, lack to understand the internal talent of child but enforced to do other task, media globalization and dependency. It needs intervention and collaborative solution for this problem such as mental health service provision, psychotherapy, psychological counseling of children diagnosed with the ideation or attempted behavior. Parents’ awareness program toward child behavior and unusual attitude is of prime important. It is the responsibility of every parent, social activist, leaders and teachers to consult with the organizations working for child rights when they feel that a child is behaving unusual. If a child spoils himself/herself by suicidal behavior and suicidal thought, it will be considered our ignorance and negligence. A humble request to all organizations working for human right to ensure their collaborative work and moral support, jointly contribute their services for control of this unwanted behavior among our pre-adolescent. A retrospective public health research is needed to explore the main risk factors behind the complete suicidal cases. The writer is a psychologist with the Child Protection and Welfare Commission Child Protection Unit, Chitral.]]>