Prince Augustine Joseph Kposowa is a Sierre Leonean-American sociologist and previously was a professor of sociology at the University of California, Riverside, where he was also the chair of the sociology department.

Early life and family

Kposowa is from

Bumpe Bumpe is a small town in Bo District in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. As of 2013 it had an estimated population of 16,123. The town is located south-west of Bo, Sierra Leone, Bo. The town is also known as Bompeh, and both names are app ...

, Sierra Leone and is a member of a Mende royal family. His father served as the Paramount Chief of Bumpe. He is the paternal uncle of Princess

Sarah Culberson Princess Sarah Jane Culberson, Lady of Bumpe, Bumpenya (born Princess Esther Elizabeth Kposowa in 1976) is an American philanthropist, public speaker, educator, writer and actress. By birth she is a Mende princess of Bumpe in Sierra Leone. She ...

, Lady of Bumpe.

Education

Kposowa received his B.A. from Saint Paul's College in

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

in 1977, his M.A. from the University of Cincinnati in 1986, and his Ph.D. from Ohio State University in 1990.

Career

Kposowa became an assistant professor at Wayne State University in 1992, and remained there until 1995, when he became an associate professor at the University of California, Riverside. On November 18, 2021, Kposowa was dismissed from University of California, Riverside due to sexual misconduct with an undergraduate student.

Research

Kposowa is known for his research on

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. For example, his research has shown that divorced men are significantly more likely to commit suicide than their female counterparts, and that Wednesday is the most common day for people to commit suicide. Another study he published found that people who lived in conservative-leaning states and in states with higher gun ownership rates were more likely to commit suicide. The same study, published in 2013, found that people who lived in a state where a higher percent of the population attended church were less likely to commit suicide.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kposowa, Augustine Joseph American sociologists Sierra Leonean emigrants to the United States Sierra Leonean royalty Living people Augustine University of California, Riverside faculty Ohio State University alumni Saint Paul's College (Virginia) alumni University of Cincinnati alumni Wayne State University faculty Suicidologists People from Bo District Year of birth missing (living people)