Archives of Suicide Research

Dieserud, Gudrun; Røysamb, Espen; Braverman, Marc T.; Dalgard, Odd Steffen; Ekeberg, Øivind

doi: 10.1080/13811110301571pmid: N/A

The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for repetition of suicide attempt by means of a prospective design. Fifty suicide attempters were interviewed shortly after their attempt and then 18 months later. During this time period, eight persons had repeated their suicide attempt. Logistic regression analyses showed that low self-appraised problem-solving capacity and general self-efficacy predicted repetition of attempt. No significant effects were found from depression, hopelessness or self-esteem. Moreover, self-appraised problem-solving capacity and self-efficacy retained their predictive power even when controlling for sex, age, previous suicide attempt, suicide intention and medical risk. The single most important predictor of repeated suicide attempt was found to be low self-efficacy; a change of one standard deviation yielded an odds ratio of 3.7.

Yen, Shirley; Siegler, Ilene C.

doi: 10.1080/13811110301569pmid: N/A

This study examines the use of 7 Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI; Hathaway & Briggs, 1940) subscales in their ability to differentiate between male suicide completers and 1) clinically depressed men, and 2) a deceased control group consisting of men who have died of medical causes. Data were collected from a nonclinical student population that was followed longitudinally. The 7 scales, chosen to reflect aspects of coping and emotional resources include two of the original scales, Defensiveness (K), Social Introversion (Si), and supplementary scales: Ego Strength (Es; Barron, 1953), Blaming Self (Bs; Finney, 1965), Impulsivity (Imp; Gough, 1957), Suppression and Outburst of Hostility (Soh; Finney, 1965), and Motivation to Change (Mtc; Volsky, Magom, Norman & Hoyt, 1965). Results indicated that suicide completers had significantly higher scores on Bs and Si when compared with deceased controls. These scales were near significant in differentiating between suicide completers and depressed controls. The results of this study suggest that those who eventually commit suicide may endorse greater tendencies toward self-blame and social introversion during early adulthood.

Liang, Holan; Flisher, Alan J.; Chalton, Derek O.

doi: 10.1080/13811110301565pmid: N/A

A theoretical pathway of progression of suicidal behavior, from ideation tocommunicating suicidal intent to suicide attempt was examined by investigating whether adolescents at each stage of the pathway could be differentiated from those at the previous stage by their risk behaviors. Cluster sampling produced a sample of 7,340 high-school students who completed a self-administered questionnaire. Bivariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression models were used to investigate the relationships between stage of severity of suicidal behavior and selected risk behaviors. For females, the more severe the suicidal behaviors exhibited, the more likely that the adolescent had been both a perpetrator and victim of violence. For males, attempting suicide was associated with being a victim and perpetrator of violence. Our findings lend partial support to the continuum of severity hypothesis of suicidal behaviors and suggest that clinicians should be alerted to escalating violent behavior as a potential precursor to suicide attempt.

Leineweber, Markus; Arensman, Ella

doi: 10.1080/13811110301570pmid: N/A

The focus of this article is to present an overview of suicide rates among the Inuit in Greenland in the period 1972-1995 and demographic characteristics of the persons committing suicide. Epidemiological data on suicides were obtained from a computerized register on causes of death (National Institute of Public Health, Denmark), and were used to update previous reports. Compared to other (North European) countries, extremely high suicide rates were found in Greenland, with a sharp increase in suicide rates in the period 1975-1989. From 1990 it appears that suicide rates have stabilized; however they remained extremely high (around 100 per 100,000). In particular among young males (15-24 years), suicide rates were very high, with a recent concentration among the young aged 15-19. Hypothetical explanations are discussed both from a sociological perspective and from an individual psychological perspective and directions for future research are presented.

Värnik, Airi; Tooding, Liina-Mai; Palo, Ene; Wasserman, Danuta

doi: 10.1080/13811110301567pmid: N/A

The three Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - were studied in two sociopolitically divergent periods. The first was the stagnation period under the Soviet regime in 1970-1984. The second was the period of democratic reforms that started in 1985, with encouraging political changes, ensuing difficulties associated with the change-over to the market economy from 1989; and finally stabilization in 1994-1998. The results of our study supported the hypothesis that suicide and homicide are affected by sociopolitical and economic conditions. Durkheim's suicide theory affords an explanation of the stable high suicide rate during stagnation period and the subsequent S-shaped suicide trend (fall-rise fall) during the reform period. However, the parallel suicide and homicide trends in the Baltic States do not tally with the postulates of Durkheim and Henry & Short regarding the inverse correlation of suicide and homicide at various levels of external restraints and with the varying state of the economy.

Zonda, Tamás

doi: 10.1080/13811110301563pmid: N/A

The author re-examined the theory published in several papers in Hungarian and English which attempt to explain the striking regional (geographical) differences in Hungarian suicide rates. According to this theory the differences are due to the fact that in counties with a high suicide rate the number of diagnosed (registered) depression cases is low and vice versa. Thus there is a negative correlation between the suicide rate and the "diagnosed depression" rate of the different regions. The explanation given is that the number of general practitioners is lower in regions (counties) with high suicide rates. Assessing a more reliable database and a much longer time period (1985-1998) the author did not find any confirmation of this theory. Since the Hungarian suicide situation has many specific features with deep historical, cultural and traditional roots, the explanation of the high Hungarian suicide rates and regional differences requires a much more complex approach.

Thorson, Jan; Öberg, Per-Arne

doi: 10.1080/13811110301568pmid: N/A

"Giving publicity to suicides may lead to an epidemic of suicides." A claim such as this was made in connection with the publication of The Sorrows of Young Werther, J. W. von Goethe's epistolary novel, which came out in 1774. Suicides as imitations of other suicides have since then been placed under the heading "The Werther effect." The book had a tremendous success, and many people were worried that the suicide toll in its wake might be immense. The fear of an epidemic is examined in the article, and although a few imitation cases can be seen, the evidence for an epidemic cannot be said to be convincing. So, contrary to popular belief, it seems that a suicide epicemic did not arise after all.

Hawton, Keith; Houston, Kelly; Malmbergand, Aslög; Simkin, Sue

doi: 10.1080/13811110301566pmid: N/A

Psychological autopsy studies in which in-depth interviews are conducted with relatives or other informants are a key method of investigation in suicide research. These interviews are likely to be emotive and potentially stressful for informants. We followed up 68 informants approximately one month after they were interviewed in three recent studies of suicide in high risk groups (young people, farmers and doctors) to determine their reactions to the interviews. Nearly all the informants (96.9%) said they preferred being approached through a letter from a member of the research team rather than by someone else. While some relatives (22.1%) understandably reported being upset during the interview and/or immediately afterwards, a month later only one informant reported feeling worse than usual. A beneficial effect was suggested in at least a third. Although only 30 informants accepted the offer of a bereavement information pack, probably because in many cases the interviews were conducted rather a long time after the deaths, 90% of these found the pack helpful. It is suggested that such a pack be included in future psychological autopsy studies and that follow-up evaluations of the kind reported here be conducted in order to ensure that potential negative effects of such studies be identified and avoided in further studies.

Rogers, James R.

doi: 10.1080/13811110301564pmid: N/A

This article reviews the research on the relationship between a reported history of sexual abuse and subsequent suicidal behavior. Based on this review, it is suggested that a conclusion that childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a significant risk factor for subsequent suicidal ideation, attempts, and completed suicides is premature. Identified limitations of the existing research include the lack of consistency in definitions of CSA and suicidality, issues related to sample selection and causality interpretations, and the absence of theoretical grounding.