Rejection of Life in Anorexic and Bulimic Patients

This study investigated eating-disordered patients’ attraction to life & death using Orbach’s model. 32 anorexic & 37 bulimic patients were matched to 37 normal controls. Eating disordered patients were found to be less attracted to & more repulsed by life than normal controls. Patients with a higher tendency to ignore their needs & serve others […]

The Body Investment Scale: Construction and Validation of a Body Experience Scale

A new measure of emotional investment in the body, the Body Investment Scale, is presented. 4 studies are discussed. The first 2 describe the construction of the scale, factor analysis, & a group comparison (suicidal & nonsuicidal inpatients & normal adolescents). Study 3 & 4 tested the relationship of the scale to suicidal tendencies & […]

Perceptions of Life and Death Among Suicidal gay Adolescents

It is suggested that gay youth who attempt suicide represent a special case in which the meanings associated with life & death are worth exploration. 16 gay men who attempted suicide were asked how they perceived life & death before the attempt & how these perceptions are linked to the attempt. Orbach’s model specifies 4 […]

Adolescents With Cancer: are They at Risk for Suicide?

When the threat of cancer is imposed during a period of intense developmental changes, it is difficult to envision that an adolescent has a strong enough sense of self to survive. Yet, adolescents with cancer tend to fight to live rather than succumb to death naturally or by suicide. Possible reasons for this fight to […]

Suicidality, Hopelessness, and Attitudes Toward Life and Death in Children

This is a replication study designed to expand on the Orbach, Gross, and Glaubman (1981) model of suicidal behaviour in children. Scores were correlated with the four dimensions of Orbach’s model (attraction to life, repulsion by life, attraction to death and repulsion by death) and with hopelessness using the Hopelessness Scale for Children. (7 refs.)

Attraction to and Repulsion of Life and Death in Young Children: A Tentative Model for the Description and Diagnosis of Suicidal Children

Suicidal behavior is not just a momentary irrational & impulsive act, but a complex behavior deeply rooted in the person’s state of mind & particular personality organization. It is proposed that by measuring the intensity of 4 factors & observing their pattern, suicdal behavior can be predicted. The 4 factors are: attractiveness of life, repulsiveness […]

Some Common Characteristics of Latency-Age Suicidal Children: A Tentative Model Based on Case Study Analyses

Assessment & treatment records were reviewed for 11 suicidal children (age 6 1/2-12 1/2).The children often experienced a suicidal parent, family in crisis, impossible parental demands, lack of satisfying adult relationships, paradoxical ideas of death, positive efforts to live. A model of children’s suicidal behavior proposes 4 forces, attractiveness vs repulsiveness or life + attractiveness […]