Exploring the determinants of Suicide among Married Women in Chitral, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the factors that lead to committing suicide among married women of Chitral, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Method: A qualitative study using a family ethnographic approach was utilized to explore the complex factors contributing to suicidal behavior among women in Chitral, aiming to understand the underlying causes and risk factors. Data collection took place between April to July 2016, employing a combination of semi-structured interviews, observation, and study records. To analyze the gathered data, a social-ecological model was used, which led to the identification of various categories and themes. It is important to note that the study received approval from the ethical committee of Aga Khan University Karachi, ensuring compliance with ethical guidelines. To protect the privacy and confidentiality of the participants, pseudonyms were assigned, ensuring anonymity throughout the research process. Results: According to the research findings, domestic violence was the primary reason for suicide among the women, which was further divided into five categories, including: (i) personal factors; (ii) family level factors; (iii) community level factors; (iv) society level factors; Conclusion: Study findings provided insights into determinants leading to suicide among married women in Chitral. The major contributing factor highlighted is domestic violence with sub-factors. The findings of the research study will make significant contributions to the prevention of suicide among women. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.41.5.9319 How to cite this: Hussain J, Sajjad S, Hussain K. Exploring the determinants of Suicide among Married Women in Chitral, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Pak J Med Sci. 2025;41(5):1435-1440. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.41.5.9319 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.