Suicide and the Communication of Rage: A Cross-Cultural Case Study
FREDERICK D. MCCANDLESS M.D.1
1 Professor of psychiatry and head, division of behavioral sciences, Albany Medical College of Union University, Albany, N. Y. 12208, and director of Albany Medical College programs in Guyana
The author reports the study of 36 attempted suicides in Guyana, an emerging nation where suicide attempts are a major public health problem. The incidence of suicide is lower among persons of African descent, which reflects the fact that there are a number of culturally sanctioned techniques for acting out hostile affects in this group. The East Indian, without a culturally accepted means for the discharge of aggression, can communicate his rage by directing it against himself.
