Citation

Laubscher LR. S. Afr. J. Psychol. 2003; 33(3): 133-143.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, SAGE Publications)

DOI

10.1177/008124630303300301

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Paarl, a large South African town, has experienced a dramatic increase in suicide among young, professional Coloured men during the period 1990 to 2000. Interviews were conducted with surviving family members and friends, and subjected to a qualitative, interpretative analysis. Theoretically and methodologically, cultural psychology is presented as a critical alternative to mainstream academic literature on suicide within psychology and sociology. Hence, the suicides of the young men are read as a cultural phenomenon within a particular post-Apartheid context. Cultural certitude and identity are presented as organising dialectic and phenomenological hermeneutic.

Language: en