A Transcultural Evaluation of "Self Poisoning" in Sri Lanka

Abstract

64 patients admitted to Kandy General Hospital, Sri Lanka, following 'self-poisoning' were interviewed. The sample resembled those from Western countries in that a major cause was inter-personal disputes, but differed from the West in that the disputes were mainly between patient and kin. Other differences were that social isolation was not a cause, agricultural pesticides were the commonest poisons used, relatively few patients were referred for psychiatric advice, and recidivism was very infrequent. An attempt is made to explain the differences on a socio-cultural basis.