Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1991, 73, 18. O Perceptual and Motor Skills 1991

T H E SEASONAL VARIATION O F SUICIDE I N ZIMBABWE' DAVID LESTER Richard Dockton State College Summary.-In Zimbabwe, suicides were found to peak in January (possibly a registration artifact), with a subsidiary peak in November (consistent with the spring peak found in the northern hemisphere).

Lester (1979) reported that the suicide rate in the USA showed peaks in April and September, and the present work explored whether a parallel seasonal variation would be found in Zimbabwe. Data were provided by the Central Statistical Office in Harare, Zimbabwe for suicides during 1983-1986. The 2177 suicides by black Zimbabweans had a peak of 2.10 per day in January and a subsidiary peak of 1.61 per day in November. By month, mean values per day were January 2.10 per day, February 1.43, March 1.46, ApriI 1.47, May 1.29, June 1.22, July 1.20, August 1.56, September 1.55, October 1.55, November 1.61, and December 1.44. These data show the trough was 1.20 per day in July ( X , , 2 = 49.93, p