Suicide in Third World Countries: The Case of Rural Ecuador

Abstract

Suicide rates in Third World countries are usually very low in official records. This may be due to under-reporting or a low level of risk factors. Evidence concerning these two hypotheses is briefly reviewed. The second half of the article describes a key informant survey done in Ecuador that shows that the rate of suicide in a rural area of the Andes is much higher than what is usually reported for regions with similar characteristics. The age-adjusted rate is about 9 per 100,000 per annum over a period of twenty years. Suicide victims are predominantly young. Marital and family conflicts are the main provoking agents.