Resource Tag: BURNING

The theme of this Conference was “Injuries, Suicide & Violence: Building Knowledge, Policies & Practices to Promote a Safer World”

The theme of this Conference was “Injuries, Suicide & Violence: Building Knowledge, Policies & Practices to Promote a Safer World”

Published in “Back to the Future: Refocusing the Image of Suicide,” ed. by J L McIntosh

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2 cases of planned complex suicide are presented. On the basis of the reported cases, a short literature review on planned complex suicides is given. The authors emphasize the importance of medico-legal investigations in such cases due to the otherwise unfathomable circumstances of death. (21 refs)

Suicide by burning & other forms of self-injurious behaviors which involve burning are sometimes considered to have religious overtones. The present study describes the ways in which persons who inflicted self-injurious behaviors through burning, including attempted suicide, imagine the Divinity & use religious language to give meaning to their experience. (14 refs)

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Altruistic suicide has a long history in India. In ancient times, 2 forms were practiced: Jauhar, a kind of mass suicide by women of a community when their menfolk suffered defeat in battle; & Sati, a suicide of a widow on the funeral pyre of her husband or after the cremation. The practice of Jauhar […]

This article explores common political & social-psychological factors involved in acts of self-immolation that took place in Vietnam & South Korea in the later part of the 20th century. Drawing upon the work of Durkheim, the author identifies some key analytical distinctions between altruistic suicide & cases of self-immolation. Using suicide notes, diaries, & letters […]

This article discusses the practice of Sati that occurred in India under British rule, with particular attention paid to the measures undertaken by the British government to end the practice.

A survey was conducted of 54 firesetters who had been in hospital or prison. The results confirmed earlier findings on several aspects, such as male predominance, unstable childhood & proclivity to self-injurious behaviour. Revenge emerged as the most common motive & an association with alcohol was found. Arsonists in prison & hospital were found to […]

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A 9-year retrospective review of all admissions to the Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh Burn Center from 1987 to 1995 found 11 out of 1135 patients to have self-inflicted burns. 10 of these patients had a psychiatric diagnosis prior to injury. The other patient was diagnosed with major depression during her hospitalization. 2 of the 11 […]

To examine sociodemographic correlates of views of self-immolation, the authors carried out semi-structured interviews with 54 Kurdish refugees. The majority of these refugees indicated that they did not expect self-immolations to help in obtaining freedom for Kurdistan. Their opinions on the issue were uniform across educational & occupational levels, gender, number of years since escape, […]

The epidemiology of suicide in India from 1975-1994 was explored, with data on suicide rates by gender, the methods used for suicide, & the officially recorded motives for suicide. In 1991, the Indian suicide rate was 9.2/100,000, with a male rate of 10.6 & a female rate of 7.9. The most common methods were poisoning […]

Self-immolation can be a form of political protest but sometimes the death is actually a suicidal act of depression. This article reviews 27 studies published between 1965-1994. The classification of self-immolators is discussed. Case reports are provided to illustrate the various categories. The distribution of psychopathology does not appear to differentiate self-incinerators from those who […]

A retrospective case note examination was done of suicides by burning in England & Wales in 1991. Statistics on suicides by burning from 1979-1992 were also examined. In 24% of cases the incident involved others either as intended or actual victims or as witnesses. 3 distinct groups (Asian-born women, schizophrenics, & homicides-suicides) were overrepresented. The […]

This proceeding summarizes a paper that analyses the differences between a therapist-patient relationship & negotiator-hostage-taker interaction. Influences of suicidal thoughts, aggression & confidentiality are discussed in these relationships. Negotiation principles, motivations for communication & the training of therapists & negotiators are presented, supplemented by an analysis of the hostage situation in Waco, Texas. (SC)

This presentation notes that while fire is a well-known method of suicide, most research has focussed on political immolations since 1963. The authors suspect that the extent of fire suicides among the elderly is much greater than presently acknowledged. Within the framework of the National Elder Fire Prevention Project, they discovered that some fires, especially […]

A study was conducted of all 51 patients admitted with self-inflicted burns to the Welsh Regional Burns Unit between 1979 & 1991. Two different groups of patients were identified: patients who attempted suicide & patients with self-mutilative behaviour. Suicide attempters tended to be older, sustained severe burn injuries with a substantial mortality & suffered predominantly […]

32 self-immolation deaths by fire occurred in Ontario from 1986-88. The victims, mostly male, were between the ages of 21 & 71 years old. Many of these individuals had, at some time, indicated their intent to commit suicide, but only about half had a diagnosed psychiatric illness. Most of the victims had a reason to […]