Suicide Ideation in the South African Police Services in the Northwest Province

Abstract

The South African Police Service (SAPS) shows relatively high numbers of suicide. However, little is known about the suicide ideation of members within the SAPS. The objective of this research was to determine the relationship between sense of coherence, job satisfaction and suicide ideation among police personnel. The study population consisted of 120 police personnel in the NorthWest Province.The results show that sense of coherence is related to suicide ideation in the case of white police members. Sense of coherence and satisfaction with independence, social status and supervision explained 55,30% of the variance in the suicide ideation scores of white police members. OPSOMMING'n Relatiewe hoe« getal selfmoorde kom in die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisiediens (SAPD) voor. Min inligting oor die selfmoorddenkbeeldvorming van lede van die SAPD is egter bekend. Die doelstelling van hierdie navorsing was om te bepaal of daar 'n verband bestaan tussen koherensiesin en werkstevredenheid enersyds en selfmoorddenkbeeldvorming by polisiepersoneel andersyds. Die ondersoekgroep het bestaan 120 lede van die SAPD in die Noordwes-Provinsie. Die resultate toon aan dat koherensiesin by wit polisiebeamptes verband hou met selfmoorddenkbeeldvorming. Koherensiesin en ontevredenheid met onafhanklikheid, sosiale status en toesighouding het 55,30% variansie in die selfmoorddenkbeeldvorming van wit polisiepersoneel verklaar.

South African correctional official occupational stress: The role of psychological strengths

“…With regard to low levels of psychological strengths and consequential maladaptive coping with stress, individuals might develop dysfunctional work attitudes. Inversely, this finding confirmed previous research indicating that the well-being of individuals was related to factors such as positive affect and an internal locus of control (Beautraus, Joyce, & Mulder, 1999;Goldney, 1982;Kamman & Flett, 1983;Petrie & Brook, 1992;Rothmann & Strijdom, 2002;Rothmann & Van Rensburg, 2001).…”

“…General factors ascribed to the occurrence of mental ill-health may vary from work environmental factors, external environmental factors to dispositional factors, and personal characteristics (Rothmann & Strijdom, 2002). Psychological well-being and dispositional psychological strengths (viewed as healthy, positive, and pro-social), such as an internal locus of control and positive affect, could be expected to counter occupational strain (seen as unhealthy, negative, and asocial) (Strü mpfer, 1995).…”

Suicide Ideation in the South African Police Service

“…This study shows a lower level of suicide ideation in the SAPS at a national level than what was previously reported for the North West Province (8.30% vs. 10.58%) (Rothmann & Strijdom, 2002;Rothmann & van Rensburg, 2001). The results showed that police officers who measured high on suicide ideation differed from those who measured low in terms of race, rank, gender and province, educational level, the use of alcohol, the presence of a medical condition and a previous suicide attempt.…”

Coping strategies in the South African police service

“…Little research has to date been done regarding the coping strategies used in the SAPS. The South African Police Service (SAPS) presents a unique environment to study coping strategies, both because the police force in question has to deal with one of the highest crime levels in the world (Nedcor Project, 1996), and members of the SAPS are seemingly not coping well, as reflected in reported rates of illness, post-traumatic stress, medical boarding, burnout, alcohol abuse, suicides, decreased levels of job satisfaction and job performance, and high levels of absenteeism and resignation (Anshel, 2000;Nel & Burgers, 1998;Nel, 1994;Pretorius, 1998;Rothmann & Agathagelou, 2000;Rothmann & Strijdom, 2002).…”

“…Recent South African research (Rothmann & Strijdom, 2002;Rothmann & Van Rensburg, 2001) examining coping in a policing context found police members to achieve the highest scores on Turning to Religion and Planning as coping strategies. It was noted as a concern that police members scored low on the venting of emotions.…”