Resource Tag: REACTIONS TO SUICIDE

This article attempts to shed new light on almoners by exploring what they actually did, principally in the enforcement of the law on suicide, their conception of charity in handling the affairs of suicide victims, & the benevolent uses to which they put forfeited assets. While apparently focusing on an “odd man out”, suicide, the […]

This position statement reviews current pathways to care for people who consider or attempt suicide. It addresses the most common & likely situations, providing 9 recommendations to increase the capacity of individuals & services to provide appropriate care. The discussion includes the following topics: community & family response & gatekeeper training; crisis services; general practitioners […]

English professor reflects on her father’s suicide.

353 women, median age 32 years, admitted to the emergency rooms of 9 general hospitals in rural China were interviewed about nonfatal suicidal behaviour. Spousal conflict was the most commonly reported cause for their suicidal behaviour & one-third of respondents reported being victims of physical abuse by their spouses. Compared to non-abused women, abused women […]

This paper addresses the experience of another person’s suicide. Clinical & sociological observations attest to the fact that witnessing another person’s suicide as an imminent or completed event may influence one’s own suicide ideation. The authors’ thesis is that prereflective, intersubjective experience of another person’s suicide raises explicit retrospective questions about the meaning of suicide […]

Humour is a highly specialized psychological response to the stress of human tragedy. This chapter reports personal observations of police humour encountered in more than 2500 suicide investigations; describes the red, yellow, greeen, & white zones of primitive, immature, adolescent, & mature humour; relates these zones to officer maturity; gives examples of each zone, & […]

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with general practitiones & primary care patients who had signs of depression. The study combined open & closed questions on attitudes to screening or being screened for suicide ideation. 101 of 132 patients took part in the survey & 103 of 300 general practitioners completed a questionnaire. A majority in […]

The purpose of this study was to examine posttraumatic growth in clinicians after the suicide death of a client. Significant results included finding compassion fatigue, clinical experience, & hours of working with suicidal clients at the time of the last completed client suicide were correlated with posttraumatic growth. Time passed since the practitioner’s last client […]

Crisis negotiators in California who had been involved in the past 5 years in incidents in which the suspect died by suicide completed a questionnaire & provided information about: anxiety symptoms during the incident; formal support afterwards; informal support from co-workers, supervisors, administrators, & investigators; long-term effects of the incident in the form of posttrauamtic […]

This article explores how 2 psychiatric nurses construct & orient to accountability when talking of their experiences of a patient suicide. Discourse analysis was used to explore particular phrases that the nurses oriented to in their accounts: scene setting, risk assessment, attributing for the suicide. Findings highlight the different, sometimes contradictory, ways the nurses attended […]

Each of the authors experienced the suicide of one patient during their residencies at Columbia & discovered several deficiencies in their methods of dealing with them. In this article, they describe the interventions developed at Columbia University, including curricular changes, development of a crisis support team, & a formal review of the event. Other constructive […]

The authors, a forensic psychiatrist & an assistant city attorney, present findings from their work in suicide-by-cop cases. The following areas are discussed: incident nomenclature & definition; decedent profiles & incident characteristics; psychological sequelae experienced by officers & law enforcement agencies; law enforcement training; & issues arising in subsequent litigation. JA

The purpose of this study was 2-fold. First, the intent was to increase knowledge about why people die by suicide. Second, the author hoped to assess the suitability & advantage of using the qualitative method of phenomenology to conduct psychological autopsies. Data was collected from 5 participants during the summer of 2008. The narratives present […]

10 adults shared their story of losing a parent to suicide when they were children or young adults. This study examined their histories of growing & maturing in their particular family. Of particular interest was the meaning they made of their journey & how this may have changed over time. Evidence of resilience was sought […]

This chapter offers insight into how officers cope with both the short- & long-term psychological effects of suicide-by-cop. Interviews with officers involved in suicide or suicide attempts, self-labeled as suicide-by-cop, were reviewed in light of varied psychological effects on the officers. Impact on officers’ sense of self, family life, interpersonal relationships, & job functions were […]

This interpretive phenomenological study described the commonality of the lived experience of suicide survivors & how it influences their family relationships in Taiwan from a sociocultural perspective. 13 survivors participated in the study. Results reveal that some survivors blame themselves, some blame others, & some are blamed by their family as part of their need […]

The author, formerly a quarterback in the National Football League, lost his 15-year-old son to suicide. In this book, Hipple discusses not only his grief journey but also his struggle with and recovery from depression.

Suicide-by-cop represents a currently understudied & most probably under-reported phenomenon that deserves serious attention. Police officers are involved in situations in which they not only lose control of the confrontation, but also become the means to the end in a civilian’s death. The phenomenon can be examined from a social psychological perspective by considering the […]

This book is written by a mother who lost her 20-year-old son to suicide. It tells his story as well as the experiences of other families mourning the loss of a child to suicide.

This study examined the impact of self-inflicted violence on the well-being of individuals in the English-speaking Caribbean. Information was obtained via field research & police statistics. Attempted suicide increased from 2005 (121 cases) to 2006 (134 cases), with a slight decline in 2007 (133 cases). Attempts were significantly more common among females than males, especially […]

This chapter explores the medical examiner’s investigative process leading to the final manner of death determination in a “death at the hands of police”. A comparison of police shooting cases investigated by several Chief Medical Examiner’s offices in a large metropolitan area reveals that it varies by office & by examiner. The final classification by […]

“The Coldest Night” tells the story of a mother’s loss of her 22-year-old son to suicide. The story begins from the moment she learned of her son’s death, through the post-mortem, the funeral, & the subsequent months of bewilderment & shock as she & her family tried to come to terms with a changed life […]

This article provides information on suicide postvention for emergency providers. A range of topics are discussed including: how recovery relates to suicide loss; mental illness & suicide; suicide loss & mental illness; what suicide postvention is; what is different about suicide loss; stressors at a suicide scene; the immediate needs of suicide grievers; misconceptions about […]