Chapter 8 - Suicide Flashcards
What is suicide?
A self-inflicted death in which one makes an intentional, direct, and conscious effort to end one’s life
What is a death seeker?
Someone who clearly & explicitly seeks to end their life
What is a death initiator?
Someone who believes they are hastening an inevitable death (ex: terminally ill)
What is a death ignorer?
Someone who intends to end their life, but not their existence (ex: members of Heaven’s Gate cult)
What is a death darer?
Someone who is ambivalent about dying and takes actions that greatly increase their chances of death
What are the feelings of someone who commits suicide?
Feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, pessimism about the future, and desire to escape
What is a subintentional death and what are the types?
When the actions or behaviors of a person indirectly cause their death. Can be indirect, covert, partial, or unconscious. Ex: not wearing a seatbelt and dying because of it
What is self-injury/self-mutilation?
When one hurts oneself to cope with psychological pain, not necessarily with the intent to end one’s life
What is nonsuicidal self-injury? (NSSI)
It may be studied for possible inclusion as a future disorder related to self-injury
How is suicide studied?
Retrospective analysis is used a psychological autopsy, studying those who have survived their attempts
True or false: Asking someone about suicidal thoughts will give them the idea of killing themself
False, this allows them to talk about their feelings
True or false: People who talk about dying by suicide do not actually do it
False, it should be taken seriously
True or false: All people who die by suicide have definitely decided that they want to die
False
True or false: People who die by suicide are always depressed beforehand
False
True or false: The risk of suicide ends when a person improves in mood following a major depression or a previous suicidal crisis
False
How do suicide rates vary?
Country to country, gender & marital status, race & ethnicity, social environment, religious devoutness
How do suicide rates in India compare to the US?
Both women and men rates are higher and the gender ratio is much lower (1.5:1)
Which gender commits suicide more and why?
Men because they use more irreversible & violent means in their attempts
Which gender attempts suicide more?
Women
How many more women attempt suicide than men?
2x (2:1 ratio)
How many more men die from their attempts than women?
Almost 4x (4:1 ratio)
What is a parasuicide?
A suicide attempt
Which age group has the most parasuicides?
25-44 years old
Which age/gender group has the most completed suicides?
Elderly males
How many people died in 2022 by suicide in US?
49,000+ people
Which ethnic group has the highest suicide rate in the US?
Native Americans
How much has the suicide rate among children skyrocketed?
By nearly 300%
Which two disorders are more common among completers of suicide?
Conduct disorder and substance abuse disorder
Which kind of disorders are more common among nonfatal attempters?
Mood disorders
How much has the rate of suicide for people aged 15-24 gone up by between the mid-1950s and mid-1980s?
3x
What percent of high schoolers attempted to kill themselves in the past 12 months according to surveys? What is the increase of this between 2009 and 2019?
8.9%
50% increase
Which groups of people have an increased risk of suicide?
Those who are bullied & LGBTQ people
What are the risk factors for suicide?
- Past attempts
- Psychiatric disorders
- Age, sex, race
- Work status
- Impulsivity
- Health (chronic pain or disease)
- Family factors
- Access to means
- Hopelessness
What are the protective factors against suicide?
- Social connectedness
- Social support
- Family connections
- Parenthood
What are the risk factors for suicidal behaviors in American Indian & Alaska Native peoples?
- Substance use
- Hopelessness
- Maltreatment during childhood
- Violent victimization
- Losing a loved one to suicide
What can trigger a suicide?
- Stressful events & situations
- Mood & thought changes
- Alcohol & other drug uses
- Mental disorders
What are examples of immediate stress that can trigger a suicide?
- Loss of a loved one through death, divorce, or rejection
- Loss of job
- Significant financial loss
- Natural disasters
What are examples of long-term stressors that can trigger a suicide?
- Social isolation
- Serious illness or injury
- Abusive environment
- Occupational stress
What kinds of moods can trigger a suicide?
- An increase in sadness, anxiety, tension, frustration, anger, and shame, hopelessness
What is hopelessness?
A pessimistic belief that one’s present circumstances, problems, or mood will never change
What kinds of thought changes can trigger a suicide?
People may become preoccupied with their problems, lose perspective, and see solution as the only solution
What is dichotomous thinking?
Viewing problems and solutions in rigid either/or terms
What fraction of people who attempt suicide are legally intoxicated at the time of their attempt?
1/4
What mental disorders can trigger a suicide?
Depressive disorders, bipolar disorders, chronic alcoholism, schizophrenia
Can antidepressants increase the risk of suicidal ideation?
Yes
Can a suicide appear to serve as a model for other such acts?
Yes, especially in teens
What are common models for contagion of suicide?
Family members & friends, celebrities, highly publicized cases, coworkers
What places are known for suicide attempts?
- Golden Gate Bridge
- Aokigahara Forest (Mt. Fuji, Japan)
What is the social contagion effect?
Increases in the risk of suicide among relatives and friends of people who recently killed themselves
What is the psychodynamic view of suicide?
Suicide results from:
- depression and anger at others redirected toward self (Stekel)
- an introjecting lost person (Freud, Abraham)
- later suicidal behaviors are related to childhood issues (Freud)
- death instincts/Thanatos (Freud)
What is an introjecting lost person?
When anger over a lost loved one turns to self-hatred and depression
What does Freud’s term Thanatos mean?
The death instinct we naturally have when aimed at ourselves
What is Durkheim’s theory?
The probability of suicide is determined by how attached one is to social groups (social integration and moral regulation). Social ties and integration into society will help prevent suicide if suicide is discouraged by society. The types of suicides are egoistic, altruistic, anomic, and fatalistic.
What is an egoistic suicide?
When someone who isn’t controlled by society and rejects it commits suicide. They are often isolated, alienated, and nonreligious.
What is an altruistic suicide?
When someone who has too much social integration commits suicide. They believe that by taking their own life they will benefit society. (Ex: a teacher who is shot while blocking students from a school shooter.)
What is an anomic suicide?
When someone with unstable social structures commits suicide. They have been let down by society.
What is a fatalistic suicide?
When someone who has an over-regulated/controlled life commits suicide. (Ex: slaves.)
What is Joiner’s interpersonal view of suicide?
People will be inclined to commit suicide if they have perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, and the psychological capacity to commit suicide.
What is perceived burdensomeness?
The belief that your existence places a heavy and permanent burden on your family, friends, and society.
What is thwarted belongingness?
Feeling isolated and alienated from others and not being an integral part of a family or social network
What is the biological view of suicide?
- genetics affect risk
- early twin studies point to genetic links to suicide
- low serotonin activity and abnormalities in depression-related brain circuits contribute to suicide
- these also aid in the production of aggressive feelings and impulsive behavior
Why do children commit suicide?
- often use deliberately self-destructive acts like stabbing, burning, and cutting
- commonly preceded by behavioral patterns like running away from home, accident-proneness, dark fantasies
- could have a recent or anticipated loss of a loved one, being abused by parents, or being bullied
Why do adolescents commit suicide?
- tied to clinical depression, low self-esteem, feelings of hopelessness, and possibly substance abuse and anger issues
- school stress, interpersonal losses such as a breakup
Why do the elderly commit suicide?
May be becoming ill, losing loved ones, losing social status and control over life
What are the two main preventative efforts?
Treatment after suicide has been attempted and suicide prevention
What are the goals of suicide prevention programs and crisis hotlines?
- establish a positive relationship
- understand and clarify the problem
- assess suicide potential
- assess and mobilize caller’s resources
- formulate a plan
What are the basic facts of suicide prevention programs and crisis hotlines?
- staffed by professionals and paraprofessionals
- offered in many forms
- mixed results of effectiveness
What are the newer assessment approaches for treatment?
Analyzing nonverbal behaviors, psychophysiological measures, brain scans, Self-Injury Implicit Association Test (Nock)
What are the treatments after suicide attempts?
- medical care
- appropriate follow-up with psychotherapy or drug therapy: ECT, drug therapies (Lithium, SSRIs), cognitive-behavioral therapy (Beck) along with mindfulness-based therapy and dialectical behavior therapy
What are the goals of therapy after an attempt?
- keep patient alive
- reduce psychological pain
- achievement of nonsuicidal state of mind
- sense of hope
- development of better ways to manage stress
How many suicide attempts are estimated per year?
1.7 million
