BINDURA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE EDUCATION FACULTY OF COMMERCE DEPARTMENT OF INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY STUDIES AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE CAUSES OF INCREASING SUICIDE CASES: A CASE STUDY OF GURUVE DISTRICT. BY B1439619 TRACY MAPURANGA A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (HONOURS) DEGREE IN POLICE AND SECURITY STUDIES OF BINDURA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE EDUCATION. 1 APPROVAL FORM Topic: An investigation into the causes of increasing suicide cases. (A case study of Guruve District, period 2012 to 2014) TO BE COMPLETED BY THE STUDENT I certify that the dissertation meets the preparation guidelines as presented in the faculty guide and instruction for preparing dissertations. ___________________ _______________ (Signature of student) (Date) ________________________________________________________________ TO BE COMPLETED BY THE SUPERVISOR This dissertation is suitable for presentation to the faculty. It has been checked for conformity with the faculty guideline. ____________________ _________________ (Signature of supervisor) (Date) _________________________________________________________________ TO BE COMPLETED BY THE DEPARTMENTAL CHAIRPERSON I certify to the best of my knowledge that the required procedures have been fulfilled and the preparation criteria was met in this dissertation. ______________________ _________________ (Signature of Chairperson) (Date) 2 RELEASE FORM Name of author : Mapuranga Tracy Registration number : B1439619 Title of project : An investigation into the causes of increasing suicide cases (A case study of Guruve District: 2012-2014). Year Granted : 2017. Permission is hereby granted to Bindura University of Science Education library to produce copies of this dissertation for scholarly purposes only. Signed : _________________________ (Author’s signature) Permanent address : House Number 60 ZRP Old Camp, Highfield HARARE. 3 DECLARATION FORM I, Mapuranga Tracy declare that this research project is my original work and has not been copied or extracted from previous sources without due acknowledgement of the source. ___________________ _____________ (Signature of student) (Date) 4 DEDICATION This research project is dedicated to my father and mother who have always been my source of inspiration. Their unequivocal support made the completion of this study a reality. 5 ABSTRACT Suicide is being committed everywhere in the world, it has been observed to be on the increase in Zimbabwe and little is being done to the increasing cases of suicide. The study investigated the main causes of increasing suicide cases in Guruve District and it was guided by the following objectives: to establish the main causes of suicide, to describe the groups of people mostly associated with suicide, to determine the impact of suicide and to establish ways of managing or reducing suicide cases. A descriptive survey design was used in carrying out this research. Out of the target population of 124 041 based on 2012 census and 105 police officers stationed at Guruve Police Station. Simple random sampling and stratified random sampling were respectively used to select 266 participants from Guruve residents and 20 police participants from Guruve Police station. The data was collected using interviews and questionnaires. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were adopted to analyse data. The study found out that domestic problems, economic hardships, unwanted pregnancies and being HIV positive were some of the contributory causes of suicide in which, married men were found to be mostly associated with committing suicide followed by married women. Recommendations were that, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, Social Welfare, Non Governmental Organisations and the Government itself needs to put their utmost efforts and find ways to reduce the cases of suicide. Suicide cases need to be prioritized and dealt with as a case of emergency. Further studies are recommended on exploring why married women are committing suicide more than women and to find out methods being used in committing suicide. 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the almighty God’s love that kept me alive up to this day. Most importantly, this work could not been successful without the professional guidance of my supervisor Mr Maunga who through unparalleled dedication and professional supervision, my job was made easier. His constructive condemnation of the study resulted in this comprehensive and informative document I would also like to thank the respondents and focus group participants who made this study a success because of their unwavering support. Lastly, I wish to express my heartfelt gratefulness to my sponsor and employer, the ZRP for according me this opportunity in my police life to empower myself and my career and fulfil my childhood aspiration. May this wonderful sponsor also be extended to others. 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page TITLE PAGE………………………………………………………………………………..i RELEASE FORM…………………………………………………………………………. ii APPROVAL FORM………………………………………………………………………. ii DECLARATION FORM…………………………………………………………………..iv DEDICATION……………………………………………………………………………...v ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………...vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………......vii TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………….viii LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………….xi LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………………...xi LIST OF APPENDICES……………………………………………………………….......xi CHAPTER I…………………………………………………………………………………1 INTRODUCTION TO THE PROBLEM…………………………………………………...1 1.0 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………... ...1 1.1 Background to the study…...............................................................................................1 1.2 Statement of the problem…………………………………………………………..……4 1.3 Research Objectives…………………………………………………………………......4 1.4 Research Questions……………………………………………………………………...5 1.5 Significance of the study………………………………………………………….….....5 1.6 Assumptions…………………………………………..…………………………………5 1.7 Delimitations of the study……………………………………………………………....6 1.8 Limitations of the study…………………………………………………………….......6 1.9 Definition of key terms………………………………………………………………....7 8 1.10 Organisation of the study…..........................................................................................7 1.11 Summary……………………………………………………………………………....8 CHAPTER II……………………………………………………………………………….9 LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………………………………….9 2.0 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….9 2.1What is literature review………………………………………………...........................9 2.2Purpose of literature review..............................................................................................9 2.3 An overview of suicide cases.........................................................................................10 2.4 Theoretical literature review...........................................................................................11 2.4.1 What are the main causes of suicide?..........................................................................11 2.4.1.1 Interpersonal Suicide Theory....................................................................................11 2.4.1.2 Contagion Theory.....................................................................................................12 2.4.2 Who is mostly associated with suicide?.......................................................................13 2.4.2.1The labelling Theory………………………………………………………...............13 2.4.2.2 Rational Suicide Theory............................................................................................13 2.4.3 Impact of Suicide.........................................................................................................14 2.4.4 How to manage suicide................................................................................................15 2.4.4.1Management of suicide by the World Health Organisation.......................................15 2.5 Empirical literature review..............................................................................................16 2.5.1 Suicide in India.........................................................................................................16 2.5.2 Suicide in Canada.....................................................................................................17 2.5.3 Suicide in Australia...................................................................................................17 2.5.4 Suicide in Kenya.......................................................................................................18 2.5.5 Suicide in Uganda.....................................................................................................18 2.6 Justification of the study.................................................................................................19 2.6 Summary........................................................................................................................20 Chapter III.............................................................................................................................21 9 Research Methodology..........................................................................................................21 3.0 Introduction.....................................................................................................................21 3.1 Research Design...............................................................................................................21 3.1.1