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Situating Ghana within the broader global suicide problem, this book argues that understanding suicidal behavior requires attention to local beliefs, values, and norms. Drawing on official data, media reports, literature, proverbs, and interviews, it analyzes the influence of language, funerary rituals, mourning practices, and cultural expressions on societal responses to suicide. The book addresses suicide among men, women, youth, the elderly, and elites, and explores a range of issues including male infertility and erectile dysfunction, while highlighting culturally grounded prevention efforts and offering evidence-based recommendations for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.
A much-needed addition on the topic of culture and suicide in African nations. [...] It offers more of an in-depth sociological perspective, which focuses on diverse aspects of culture (both overt and covert) and draws from examples that cut across socioeconomic, gender, and traditional/modern norms, values, or expectations.
— Sussie Eshun, East Stroudsburg University
Mensah Adinkrah, Ph.D., is Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Central Michigan University. A Fulbright Scholar to Ghana, he has also held academic appointments at the University of the South Pacific and Metropolitan State University. He is the author of several books, including Witchcraft, Witches, and Violence in Ghana (Berghahn, 2015).
Contents
List of Illustrations
Preface
Introduction. Ghana and the Global Suicide Problem
Chapter 1. The Concept of Culture: Ghanaian Perspectives and Illustrations
Chapter 2. Media Representations and Portrayals of Suicide in Ghana
Chapter 3. Language, Suicide, and Meaning in Akan Society
Chapter 4. Culture and Methods of Suicide in Ghana
Chapter 5. Suicide in Ghanaian Jails
Chapter 6. Public Cemeteries as Sites of Suicide in Ghana
Chapter 7. Suicide Themes in Akan Proverbs
Chapter 8. Depictions of Suicide in Popular Akan-Language Literature
Chapter 9. Beliefs, Practices, and the Meaning of Suicide in Akan Society
Chapter 10. Altruistic Suicide in Akan Historiography and Literature
Chapter 11. Suicide among Non-Akan Ethnic Groups in Ghana
Chapter 12. Suicide among Ghanaian Males
Chapter 13. Erectile Dysfunction, Involuntary Infertility, and Male Suicidal Behavior in Ghana
Chapter 14. Suicide among Ghanaian Females
Chapter 15. Suicidal Behavior among Children, Adolescents, and Youths in Ghana
Chapter 16. Suicide among the Elderly in Ghana
Chapter 17. Suicide among the Elite in Ghana
Chapter 18. Anti-Suicide Messages on Ghanaian Motor Vehicles
Chapter 19. Anti-Suicide Themes in Popular Ghanaian Music
Conclusion. Recommendations for Suicide Prevention in Ghana
Bibliography
Index