3 in 10 Police officers have suicidal thoughts – Psychological Association

A research paper by the Ghana Psychological Association has shown that nearly three in 10 police officers in urban Ghana report having had thoughts about taking their own lives during the previous 12 months.

Also, ongoing research indicates that some displaced staff and survivors of the recent banking sector clean-up have contemplated and attempted suicide.

The Ghana Psychological Association has thus called for concerted efforts towards the prevention of suicide as one in 10 adults in rural communities think about taking their own lives in the country.

In the same study by the GPA, it has been reported that among school-going deaf adolescent, one in 10 students reports attempting suicide in the past 12 months.

Across second cycle schools, about two in 10 students report intentional self-injury or self-poisoning in their lifetime.

Furthermore, two out of five adolescent who identify as LGBT engage in self-poisoning or self-injurious behaviours.

The revelation was made on Thursday, September 10, 2020, to mark the World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) on the theme “Working together to prevent suicide”.

The theme according to the Ghana Psychological Association is a clarion call for a collective effort towards suicide prevention “because suicide prevention is everyone’s business.”