Adolescence is generally regarded as a time of developmental change in all aspects: physical, emotional and psychological. This change is difficult and stressful for the adolescent to comprehend and assimilate into their way of being. During these times of developmental change and stress the manner in which the adolescent chooses to or learns to cope with the various stressors they face can be a signifier of things to come. In other words, coping strategies that an individual chooses to use, be they functional or maladaptive, may inform their future. This study’s focus is the relationship between an individual’s ability to cope and his level of suicidal ideation, and explores whether these two variables are related. In South Africa, and throughout the world, there is a trend of a greater number of younger people engaging in suicidal behaviour than previously and research into any and all aspects of this phenomenon is thus valuable. Many hypotheses have been proposed and there are many related factors that need to be considered. A quantitative approach was used to examine the relationship between coping strategies and suicidal ideation. The Coping Across Situations Questionnaire and the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire were administered to a sample of adolescent males at a co-educational high school in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The results determined that there is a significant, positive relationship between maladaptive coping strategies and high levels of suicidal ideation, that demographic variables such as grade and race seem to have some impact on this relationship and that further investigation is necessary into the relationship between adaptive coping skills and low levels of suicidal ideation. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

Thesis (M. A. (Clinical Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / Suicidal behaviour is a global health concern. The youth have been found to be at an exceptional risk in terms of suicidal behaviour due to a variety of problems that they encounter. Studies have been conducted to conceptualise suicidal behaviour. However, cultural aspects have often been neglected or marginalised. In Africa traditional healers play an important role in health care provision and the conceptualisation of problems encountered by the people. The present study was aimed at exploring how traditional healers conceptualise youth suicidal behaviour in Bakenberg, Limpopo Province. A qualitative exploratory method was utilised to execute the study. Study participants included ten traditional healers (six females and four males) aged between 35 and 85 years of age, who were selected using a snowball sampling method. A conversational method was used to collect data, employing semi-structured interview questions as a way of initiating conversations. The conversations were conducted in Sepedi and later translated into English. The study revealed that suicide is mainly understood to be multifaceted. Witchcraft, family problems, poor problem-solving skills, substance use, life difficulties and other secondary factors were all identified as central themes. The study revealed that suicide is a speciality within traditional healing, thus only those who are gifted and trained can assess or intervene. Ditaola (divination bones) and ancestral guidance were reported to be some of the means used to identify suicidal youth. The study also revealed that talk therapy (counselling) and herbal medicine „Molebatsa‟ were used as the main intervention methods. Herbal medicine is used as both a prevention and treatment of suicidal behaviour in youth. Thus it can prevent the occurrence of suicide or calm an individual who had a failed suicide attempt.