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Background: Attempted suicide is still considered a crime in Ghana. Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes toward this law held by health workers and police officers in Ghana so as to provide culture-sensitive arguments to aid in abolishing the law. Method: Qualitative interviews were conducted with eight clinical psychologists, eight emergency ward nurses, and eight police officers. Results: The majority of informants did not agree with the law criminalizing attempted suicide in Ghana, although five of the emergency ward nurses and two police officers did. Arguments for agreeing with the law were that people have no right to take life and that the law has a deterrent effect and thus it will help reduce the suicide rate. The main argument for not agreeing with the law was that suicidal behavior is a mental health issue. Those who argued in favor of the law did not seem to reflect much on the reasons for suicidal behavior. Conclusion: Education on how to understand suicidal behavior and suicidal people may aid the work toward decriminalizing attempted suicide in Ghana.

The objective of this study was to examine psychology students' attitudes toward suicidal behaviour and the meanings they assign to the act. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 final year psychology students at a university in Ghana. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyze the data. The results indicated that the students had a generalized negative attitude toward suicide. Religious beliefs and family harmony are cultural contexts influencing the interpretation of suicidal behaviour as breach of divine and communal moralities. The implications of these meanings of suicidal behaviour for suicide prevention in Ghana are discussed.

AbstractVigilantism is gaining popularity in Africa as a means of self‐defence, enacting justice, policing morality, and sanctioning (perceived) wrongdoings. Drawing on content analysis of 172 media reports from 2001 to 2018, this study examined the trends and patterns of vigilantism, characteristics of victims, and reported reasons for recourse to vigilantism within the Ghanaian context. Results showed a considerable increase in reported cases of vigilantism within the 18‐year period, with most of the cases reported in urban settings. Theft and robbery emerged as the most frequently suspected crimes for which victims were attacked and, in many cases, killed. The study underscores the implications of vigilantism in terms of disdaining human life and dignity. It calls for the need to revisit the justice administration systems and punishment procedures, as well as resourcing and empowering law enforcers to fight crime, including vigilantism.

This study examined the reasons for suicide attempts among patients in Ghana. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 30 informants who had been hospitalized for attempted suicide. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyse the transcribed narratives, and five main themes emerged: 1) lack of support; 2) abandonment; 3) shame; 4) existential struggles; and 5) supernatural reasons. There were gender differences with abandonment reported by only women and shame associated with economic difficulties reported only by men. Findings are discussed within the context of a socio-cultural theory of suicide behaviour, and implications for the prevention of suicide and care of suicidal persons are suggested.

Community leaders can play an important role in suicide prevention because they are potential gatekeepers in resource-poor settings. To investigate their attitudes towards suicide and the role they play when people are in suicidal crisis, 10 community leaders were interviewed in a rural community in Ghana. Thematic Analysis of the interviews showed that leaders held two conflicting views about suicide: health crisis and moral taboo. They also viewed the reasons for suicide as psychosocial strains more than psychiatric factors. Though they viewed suicide as a moral taboo, they maintained a more neutral position in their gatekeeping role: providing support for persons in suicidal crisis more often than exerting a condemnatory attitude. Implications for gatekeeper training are discussed.

The penal code of Ghana condemns suicide attempt. The present study sought to explore the views of the police on persons who attempt suicide and the law criminalizing the act. Qualitative in-depth interviews were used to explore the views of 18 officers of the Ghana Police Service. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis technique. Findings showed that the police officers profiled suicide attempters as needy, enigmatic, ignorant, and blameworthy. Majority ( n = 14) of them disagreed with the law and suggested a repeal, whereas only four of them agreed with the law. Regardless of their positions on criminalization, they showed an inclination to help, rather than arrest, when confronted with such persons in line of their duty. Educating the police on suicidal behavior may help to deepen their understanding and help improve the way they handle suicidal persons. This may also strengthen police suicide prevention gatekeeping obligations.

Abstract. Self-reported suicidal behavior and attitudes toward suicide in psychology students are reported and compared in Ghana, Uganda, and Norway. Small differences only were found in own suicidal behavior. However, experience of suicidal behavior in the surroundings was more common in Uganda than in Ghana and Norway. Although differences were found between the three countries in attitudes toward suicide, which emphasizes the need for culture-sensitive research and prevention, many of the differences were not as big as expected. The most pronounced difference was that the Norwegian students were more reluctant to take a stand on these questions compared to their African counterparts. Some differences were also found between the two African countries. The implications of the results for suicide prevention in Africa are discussed.

Understanding of local conceptions of personhood and mental illness is central for developing therapeutic alliance and treatment regimens for persons living with mental illness. Such persons are exposed to several discriminatory behaviours yet factors that seem to encourage these behaviours are still not entirely understood. Personhood as construed from an emic perspective could potentially guide an understanding of societal attitudes toward individuals suffering from mental illness. This study explored Akan and Ewe conceptions of personhood in relation to mental illness. Using a semi-structured interview guide, seven Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted in the Tutu and Taviefe communities of the Eastern and Volta Regions of Ghana. A thematic analysis of interviews brought out three main themes: loss of sense of personhood during mental illness; liminality of personhood status after mental illness; and restoration of personhood status. Within these conceptions, activities such as restoring routines and occupational therapy could be utilized to "restore personhood" at least at the performative level. This demonstrates the dynamic interface between notions of personhood and mental illness with implications for stigma reduction.

Personal and political action on climate change is traditionally thought to be motivated by people accepting its reality and importance. However, convincing the public that climate change is real faces powerful ideological obstacles1, 2, 3, 4, and climate change is slipping in public importance in many countries5, 6. Here we investigate a different approach, identifying whether potential co-benefits of addressing climate change7 could motivate pro-environmental behaviour around the world for both those convinced and unconvinced that climate change is real. We describe an integrated framework for assessing beliefs about co-benefits8, distinguishing social conditions (for example, economic development, reduced pollution or disease) and community character (for example, benevolence, competence). Data from all inhabited continents (24 countries; 6,196 participants) showed that two co-benefit types, Development (economic and scientific advancement) and Benevolence (a more moral and caring community), motivated public, private and financial actions to address climate change to a similar degree as believing climate change is important. Critically, relationships were similar for both convinced and unconvinced participants, showing that co-benefits can motivate action across ideological divides. These relationships were also independent of perceived climate change importance, and could not be explained by political ideology, age, or gender. Communicating co-benefits could motivate action on climate change where traditional approaches have stalled.

Personal and political action on climate change is traditionally thought to be motivated by people accepting its reality and importance. However, convincing the public that climate change is real faces powerful ideological obstacles(1-4), and climate change is slipping in public importance in many countries(.)(5,6) Here we investigate a different approach, identifying whether potential co-benefits of addressing climate change(7) could motivate pro-environmental behaviour around the world for both those convinced and unconvinced that climate change is real. We describe an integrated framework for assessing beliefs about co-benefits(8), distinguishing social conditions (for example, economic development, reduced pollution or disease) and community character (for example, benevolence, competence). Data from all inhabited continents (24 countries; 6,196 participants) showed that two co-benefit types, Development (economic and scientific advancement) and Benevolence (a more moral and caring community), motivated public, private and financial actions to address climate change to a similar degree as believing climate change is important. Critically, relationships were similar for both convinced and unconvinced participants, showing that co-benefits can motivate action across ideological divides. These relationships were also independent of perceived climate change importance, and could not be explained by political ideology, age, or gender. Communicating co-benefits could motivate action on climate change where traditional approaches have stalled.