Psychological, agricultural, and socioeconomic risk factors in farmers with and without completed suicide
Raghavendra B. Nayak, Bheemappa Anjinappa, Triptish Bhatia, Mahesh MahadevaiahABSTRACT
Background:
Farming is an occupation with higher risk for suicide compared to other occupations, and Indians are no exception. Karnataka state is only second after Maharashtra in the frequency/prevalence of farmers’ suicide in India. Suicide among farmers is multidimensional in nature.
Aim:
To study the psychological, agricultural, and socioeconomic risk factors in farmers who had completed suicide and farmers in the same locality who had not/never attempted suicide.
Methods:
Families of farmers, aged between 18 and 60 years, who had died by suicide, were recruited as cases. Age- and gender-matched farmers from the same locality with similar financial risk factors were recruited as controls by the convenient sampling method after obtaining informed consent. Psychological autopsy was done in cases, and similar risk factors were assessed in controls. GHQ-12 and Mini Plus scale were used. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software.
Results:
The study included 295 cases and 254 controls. Sociodemographic parameters except educational status (
Conclusion:
Farmer suicide is a complex phenomenon with underlying multiple risk factors. Farmers with suicidal attempt had underlying depression, socioeconomic, and agricultural risk factors and also substance abuse.