Abstract
Background: Around 48 to 500 million people worldwide experience suicide bereavement as a result of the estimated 800, 000 lives lost to suicide each year. Family members' emotional and social functioning may be impacted by suicide and self-harm. Homicide followed by suicide (hereinafter H-S) is a subtype of homicide in which the perpetrator commits suicide after ending the victim’s life. Homicide-suicides (H-S) are murders of one or more people followed by the perpetrator's suicide. In these situations, which are also known as “extended suicides”, “murder-suicides”, or “dyadic deaths”, the relationship between the victims and the perpetrators is frequently close. When compared to homicides or suicides alone, H-S is a unique occurrence, which causes a comparatively lower prevalence and a significantly higher reporting of such events by news outlets. Aside from those concerning occurrences, the results of the South African research are usually consistent with those observed elsewhere in that middle-aged men commit the majority of H-S cases, the majority of victims are female, and the perpetrator's younger intimate partner is also of the same race. The dissolution of an intimate relationship is the apparent cause of murder that occurs most frequently. The approach employed most frequently is shooting. At the time of the HS, alcohol usage was linked to both perpetrators and victims, with a majority in the former group.
Aim: The study was aimed at determining the social and occupational factors responsible for homicide and suicide amongst the members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Mangaung Metro in Free State province.
Methodology: The study applied a quantitative cross-sectional study design. A quantitative method was used to determine the social and occupational factors responsible for homicide and suicide amongst the SAPS members in Mangaung Metro in Free State. The study included 240 individuals as its sample, which were the SAPS members from different police stations in Mangaung Metro. A simple random sampling was utilised to select the sample size of 240 participants out of the estimated 870 SAPS members around Mangaung Metro. Sample size estimation was done using EPI Info software version 7 to determine the study sample size population. Data was collected by means of a paper-based questionnaire which was administered at different police stations around Mangaung Metro. The questionnaire was divided into four sections, which included the socio-demographic data, prevalence of homicide and suicide, as well as social and occupational factors responsible for homicide and
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suicide and the different intervention measures towards curbing homicide and suicide. Data was prepared and analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 29.0, analysis techniques such as frequencies and percentages, inferential statistics and linear regression were used to address the study objectives. The ethical considerations were followed when carrying out the study in order to protect the dignity, rights and identity of the participants.
Results: The analysis was conducted to describe the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants, quantify the prevalence of homicide and suicide among the members of SAPS in Mangaung Metro, determine the social and occupational factors responsible for H-S amongst the members of SAPS in Mangaung Metro, and ascertain measures towards curbing factors responsible for homicide and suicide amongst the SAPS members in Mangaung Metro in Free State. The results showed that the majority of the respondents were black 95.4% (n=188), 66.0% (n=130) were males, a large proportion of the respondents 34.0% (n=67) were aged between 35-44 years, and a majority of them 51.3% (n=101) hold a matric certificate or below and a large number of respondents 39.1% (n=77) were married. Most of the respondents were constables 39.1% (n=77) and had 16-20 years of work experience 23.4% (n=46), and the majority of the respondents worked a day shift 52.8% (n=104). Furthermore, the majority of the respondents 76.6% (n=151) have heard of a homicide and suicide case in Mangaung Metro where a member of the SAPS was involved. A chi-square test was conducted to test the relationship between homicide and suicide cases and social and occupational factors responsible for H-S amongst the members of SAPS in Mangaung Metro. There was a statistically significant relationship between the history of domestic violence (p-value < 0.001), the history of separation or divorce (p-value = 0.001), and the history of mental health-related illnesses (p-value = 0.001), revealing a statistically significant relationship with the H-S case. The study also discovered that having a history of substance abuse at any point (p-value = 0.005), having any chronic illnesses (p-value = 0.019), and having any conflicts at work (p-value = 0.001) all showed statistically significant relationships with the H-S case.
There is also a statistically significant relationship between the H-S case and the history of disciplinary action taken (p-value = 0.047), the report of any stressful work situation at any stage (p-value = 0.042), the experience of fatigue from shift (p-value = 0.030), and the exposure to accident hazards while on duty (p-value = 0.003).
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Conclusions: From the findings of the study there was an association between homicide and suicide and the social and occupational factors were the main contributors to homicide and suicide amongst the members of the SAPS in Mangaung Metro in the Free State.