Resource Tag: GREECE

This study examined biological correlates of suicidal behavior. In a sample of 111 suicide attempters admitted to a Greek general hospital, the authors studied the turnover of neurotransmitters by measuring the urinary output of the main metabolites of serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline & serum cholesterol, & compared them to 62 healthy controls. Urinary noradrenaline was significantly […]

The aim of this study was to investigate the factors associated with the past history of suicide attempts in high-dose regular benzodiazepine (BZD) users (HDRUs). 55 HDRUs were compared to matched controls. Using logistic regression analysis, it was found that only comorbid borderline personality disorder (BPD), not high-dose BZD use, was independently associated with a […]

This study aimed to estimate the comorbidity of suicidal behavior & substance use in young male conscripts & to analyze the association between personal coping resources & the severity of these behaviors. A proportion of 11.7% & 24% of the subjects, respectively, had lifetime & current feelings that life is not worth living. The comorbidity […]

Xenophon contends that Socrates sought death, availing himself of his indictment to make a desirable end of life. Plato’s dialogues do not permit outright rejection of Xenophon’s claims. To avoid conceptual infirmity the question thus raised should not be put in terms of an allegation of “suicide.” One should read the first tetralogy dialogues as […]

The author responds to an article entitled “Did Socrates Commit Suicide?” by R. G. Frey. He argues that Frey fails to show Socrates killed himself intentionally and raises questions about the nature of Socrates’ intentions. He also highlights the issues of intent and desired ends in classifying death as suicide.

2400 years have passed since the occurrence in Athens, Greece of one of the most famous suicides recorded in human history. This autobiographical essay provides a montage on the history of suicide, with snippets from the final hours of Socrates, as described by Plato. Suicide in contemporary Japanese culture is also explored briefly, with reference […]

This article proposes a model that conceptualizes health professionals’ reactions to the deaths of their patients in terms of loss & grief. It suggests that grieving is both an individual & social-interactive process. The interaction between individual idiosyncratic factors (life style) & environmental factors (work style) is described in terms of how they affect the […]

Plato’s “Phaedo”, written circa 390 B.C., tells the story of Socrates’ imprisonment by the Athenians on charges of impiety & corruption of local youth. Condemned to death by poison, Socrates spent his last hours discussing the immortality of the soul with his disciples, including Phaedo, who sat beside Socrates as he drank the hemlock.

This study investigated the relationship between use of unprescribed licit & illicit drugs & problematic drinking with depressive sumptoms & suicidal behavior in 4291 respondents aged 12 to 64. A higher proportion of illicit drug users were found to be depressed in all age groups & both sexes, than the other groups of substance users. […]

The author discusses the attitudes toward suicide in the Christian & Jewish religions. Using evidence from the Bible & the Talmud, & Christian & Hebrew practices, it is shown how responses to people who attempted or completed suicide have changed significantly over time. For example, in the Christian church of the first & second centuries, […]

Attitudes toward suicide differ between societies, & also change with time. 104 items of ancient art from Greek, Roman & Estrucan societies that show suicide have been examined & catalogued. These icons, the most distinctive of which are discussed in this article, confirm the view suggested by literary sources that in the Graeco-Roman world self-killing […]

This presentation examines suicide ideation. 528 Greek Army draftees were administered a psychometric battery following recruitment & 50 days later. Coming into the military seems to create feelings of hopelessness which leads to suicidal ideation in individuals with emotional instability, impulsive behavior, & a tendency to turn hostile feelings inward. Identifying this constellation of personality […]

This article compares suicide in Greek tragedy & the Hebrew Bible. It concentrates on the actual life situations portrayed in the 2 sets of narratives promoting or preventing suicide. Perhaps the most striking comparison is the frequency of suicides in Greek tragedy & the infrequency of them in the Hebrew Bible. The stories of Narcissus […]

4 groups of Greek & Danish women (2 married & 2 unmarried) who attempted suicide were studied. The focus of the study was the quality of the women’s relationships with their husbands or boyfriends & the significance of these relationships to the women’s suicide attempts. Most of the women had very poor relationships. A high […]

This article analyzes the causes of attempted suicide among Greek youth, & the effect of Greek cultural norms. The author finds that parental restriction of personal freedom was the major factor resulting in suicide attempts, especially for adolescent girls. Family disruption was also a large contributor. As well, psychiatric disorders were more frequent among attempters […]

This study tested 412 Greek military draftees at the time of recruitment & 50 days later. Screening tests found that suicidal ideation was present in 17% of the sample, & this was correlated with the severity of hopelessness, depression, introverted hostility & hypomania. Fifty days later, ideation was present in 9%, & was correlated with […]

A group of 46 persons who had attempted suicide by jumping was compared on clinical & demographic patterns with a group of 214 persons who had attempted suicide by drug overdose. The risk indicators of persons attempting suicide by jumping were identified: more often men, of a more advanced age, married or widowed, more often […]

A study of suicide in a Greek province from 1979-1984 showed the following: a mean suicide rate of .48/10,000 population/year, a significant increase in the suicide rate in men over 65, significantly higher rates in men from rural areas, & differences according to marital status. Violent methods were most frequently used & psychological disorders were […]

This article describes the interactions of honor, shame & suicide in Greece. 197 cases reported by a credible journal from 1960-1963 are analyzed for sex/age differences, rural-urban differences, occupational differences, & real/alleged differences. Results indicate that there is some redefinition of honor/dishonor taking place at this time, however honor & its facilitation of suicide are […]

More than half of the 169 attempters (Apr71-Mar72) in the Thessaloniki area were less than 25 yrs old, most were in the working class & 82% were females. January, February, April & Monday had the highest attempt rates. 122 subjects completed a questionnaire which gave additional information. The method was usually poison (by ASA or […]

The frequency of suicide in Greece by age, sex, urban-rural residence & seasonality based on data from National Statistical Service of Greece for the period 1959-75 was studied. Main findings showed: age-adjusted mortality from suicide in Greece is among the lowest in the world & is declining; suicide mortality is higher among men than women, […]