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 selfmoorddenk-beeldvorming 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, status en toesighouding het 55,30% variansie in die selfmoorddenkbeeldvorming van wit polisiepersoneel verklaar.