Percepción social de los familiares de las personas que consumaron suicidio durante los años 2002-2005 en la ciudad de Santa Marta (Colombia)

Abstract

Background: One of the principal psycho-social factors that awards relevancy during the multi-causal analysis of the suicide is the family, which acts in the life’s course of individuals as a modulating agent in their relation with the environment, causing a minor or major vulnerability for the disease and the learning of protective health conducts from its family functioning. Objective: To determine the social perception of the relatives of the people who completed suicide in Santa Marta during years 2002-2005. Method: descriptive and retrospective study across the application of a questionnaire which refers to the social perception of the suicide’s relatives, and also the application of the familiar APGAR as an instrument of support. Results: According to the 30 cases studied, the people, who more frequently committed suicide, were male compared to the females, in a scale of 3 to 1.The age with more cases of suicides are among 14 to 25 (30%) and 26 to 35 (24%). According to the type of family the person was living with, the 26% lived in a “nuclear” family (father, mother and kids of their own), 37% was in a single parenting family and the remaining percentage was living in an extended family. Discussions: The social perception of the relatives of people who has completed suicide respect to the event reflects that these were responsible persons and with a high performance in their work, they were happy and expressive. according to the opinion of their relatives the existing contradiction becomes clear among the positive attitude opposite to the life that they were showing and decision of the suicide, related to both environmental and internal pressures of the subject, which their relatives did not perceive completely or did not give the relevancy to the possible reactions that could have to these circumstances.