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Alcohol-related parasuicide among married people
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg.
Although parasuicide has been widely studied, its indirect relationship with alcohol abuse has received less attention. The present study examines the incidence of alcohol-related parasuicide at a Pietermaritzburg general hospital. Over 40% of married parasuicide women cited their husbands' abuse of alcohol and its associated violent behaviour as precipitants to their self-destructive acts. However, in contrast to overseas findings, recent alcohol intake was not prevalent in the parasuicide women themselves. This difference appears to be culturally rooted.
Although parasuicide has been widely studied, its indirect relationship with alcohol abuse has received less attention. The present study examines the incidence of alcohol-related parasuicide at a Pietermaritzburg general hospital. Over 40% of married parasuicide women cited their husbands' abuse of alcohol and its associated violent behaviour as precipitants to their self-destructive acts. However, in contrast to overseas findings, recent alcohol intake was not prevalent in the parasuicide women themselves. This difference appears to be culturally rooted.