Social construct impacts on suicidal behavior: a case study of Northern Pakistan

In contrast to suicide as a rational decision, this study tests suicide as an irrational decision from the perspective of behavioral economics through a social constructionist approach using multiple qualitative datasets. The study explores important constructs such as; incomplete information, the role of emotions, unstable preferences, dependency on others in terms of preferences and decision-making and socio-economic causes. The findings disclose that the ratio of suicide is higher in females than males and the majority of the respondents are under the age of thirty-five in the Northern district of Chitral, Pakistan. Based on the social construct, it has been confirmed that suicide is an irrational decision. The study concludes that rational choice fails to be a better predictor of decisions like suicide. The study also provides some policy recommendations to prevent the suicide rate in district Chitral and gives some future research directions.