Perceptions of Suicide and Mental Illness Causes/Treatments Among Aawambo Namibians

Abstract: In the last decade, suicide and mental illness have received more social, empirical, and institutional attention in Namibia. Despite systemic attention, culturally-specific scholarship about explanatory models for suicide and mental illness in Namibia lags behind. Thus, our purpose was to examine perceptions of mental illness and suicide causes as well as treatments among Aawambo respondents ( N = 201) in urban ( n = 100) and rural ( n = 101) regions of Namibia. Participants read two vignettes (one depicting mental illness and one depicting suicide attempt) and were asked to identify causes of condition and potential treatments. We utilized logistic regression and other parametric statistics to predict perceptions of treatment suggestions by perceived causes of condition and examine if causes and treatment suggestions varied by vignette. Findings are situated within the need for greater awareness of cultural models of mental illness and suicide as well as specific efforts to enhance intervention and prevention.