Resource Tag: ROLE MODELS

This chapter discusses the context of violence & pathways to understanding the problem of violence. The author believes that any response by schools must place violence in context & realize there are many victims. He offers guidelines for schools operating from this principle. A central plea in the chapter is for teachers & school personnel […]

This article reports on some of the memorial activities that took place in The Netherlands following Cobain’s suicide & explores reasons why adolescents identify with his persona & music. It provides a literature review of studies which have examined the role of modeling in suicidal behavior & notes that to date, no study has clearly […]

This article discusses the role of modeling & specific concerns regarding Platt’s investigation. A hypothetical model is presented as an alternative that should lend credibility to future investiugations into the theoretically posited causal relationships within the modeling paradigm. Model selection recognized that an adequate test of the observational learning theory would need to appropriately employ […]

Based on interviews with 53 male alcoholics, the relationship between childhood conditions, history of alcohol & drug misuse, & assaultive & suicidal behaviour was studied. 57% of the sample reported a history of violent behaviour. Hidden violence, often towards women, was common. 1/3 of the violent patients had attempted suicide compared to 17% of the […]

Prevention strategies for multiple health behaviours in the areas of nutrition, marijauna use, tobacco use, drinking & driving, & sexuality, were taught to 115 eighth graders by college-age role models. Suicide prevention was not part of the program. A 20-month follow-up resulted in clear positive outcomes on measures of cigarette smoking & improved food choices. […]

In this presentation, the authors state that increasing rates of suicide should not be viewed as a temporary problem, but as a phenomenon of far-reaching consequences. One of the arguments put forth is that children exposed to suicide come to recognize the suicidal act as a reaction to difficulties & as a way of solving […]

This presentation is a survey of selected cases where the method of suicide or the attempt was significant in terms of past experiences or dynamic meanings. The method for suicide can serve 2 functions: it is a means to an end, & the means might have a special meaning of its own. Results from an […]

This case history notes that suicide was almost a way of life for Anne Sexton (1928-1974), an acclaimed US poet. There were many attempts with medication. Her suicide was with carbon monoxide. Sexton remained in psychotherapy from 1956 to 1974, was hospitalized on many occasions, was depressed, a substance abuser, promiscuous, prone to trances & […]

This chapter reviews the literature on the impact of nonfiction & fictional suicide stories publicized in the mass media (newspapers & television). It addresses the question of how the effects of suicide stories might be mitigated, consulting the literature in the fields of advertising & decision-making. It also suggests research topics that remain to be […]

A high rate of suicide attempts & suicide ideation characterized a sample of 229 Grade 7-9 adolescents resident on 7 reserves in central Alberta. Somewhat elevated levels of family disruption & psychological problems were found, & ideation was significantly elevated for adolescents with low psychological well-being, no father in the home & a prior suicide […]

The effect of suggestion on suicide is well established. However, the intrapsychic mechanisms of the contagion of suicides are poorly understood. The literature on suicide clustering & projective identification is presented. A clinical vignette is then used to illustrate a patient’s suicidal behaviour. Taiminen attempts to show that Goldstein’s clarifying model of projective identification has […]

The author asserts that when Victorians contemplated suicide, they turned to literature to comfort themselves. The author concentrates on three writers: Thomas Carlyle, John Stuart Mill, and Florence Nightingale. All three wrote about their own suicidal tendencies in their youth, but they later served as role models with productive adult lives. (25 refs.) (VM)

This article details studies on mass media reporting of suicides. Various studies have shown a contagion effect after a person of high prestige, or with whom a vulnerable person can identify with in respect to age, sex, or ethnicity, commits suicide. The author concludes that we must stop portraying death in a positive light, for […]

Examined the effect of publicized suicide stories concerning noncelebrities on the monthly rate of suicide. Correcting coding errors in a previous work by Wasserman, it was determined that suicides of noncelebrities were associated with increases in the national suicide rate. An index of publicized celebrity suicide stories was, however, more closely associated to increases in […]

This article explains how psychotherapy can transform a suicide threat into a strong life orientation. The author asserts that artful referral, social support & common destructive social attitudes are major factors in determining the success of prevention. Case examples are provided. In conclusion, the author notes the relevance of the increasingly common destructive role models, […]

Presents an analysis of the suicide death of Ernest Hemingway’s brother Leicester, who took his life in the same way & under the same conditions as both his father & brother. Suggests that finding his father’s body after the suicide was a trauma that planted in Leicester’s mind the idea of suicide as a solution. […]

Presents a psychological analysis of the suicide of Bruce Clark, the All-American Baseball Player of the Year for 1960, noting that the suicide of Marilyn Monroe stimulated his initial thoughts of suicide.

Recent research on the impact of mass media stories is reviewed &, through the analysis of new data, the authors consider whether the manner in which the stories are presented affects the degree to which they are imitated. Findings indicate that suicide stories do seem to elicit suicide. Suggestions for future research are given. (26 […]

Following a review of existing studies & a discussion of the methodological prerequisites for testing the imitation hypothesis, the authors discuss their study of the effect of a television movie, broadcast twice, that includes the suicide of a young man. Findings suggest that it lasts much longer than a number of days after the perception […]

A 6-week serial showing the railway suicide of a 19-year-old male student was broadcast twice & provided an experimental ABABA design to investigate differential effects of suicide imitation. These were most clearly observable in groups whose age & sex was closest to that of the model. Imitation effects remained detectable for longer periods in these […]

The point has been raised that suicide prevention programs in schools may facilitate contagion. Contagion is more likely when vulnerable persons are exposed to suicide, when the presentation makes suicide seem positive (i.e. a potential solution), & when a high affective environment increases identification with the suicide. It is suggested that an emotionally neutral presentation […]

142 college students were asked to view a videotape about a disturbed high school student, then to assess her potential for committing suicide, running away, entering therapy, or abusing alcohol. Subjects who were told the teenager knew of 2 recent suicides in the community rated her as more likely to commit suicide or to run […]

Uses a review of the literature & brief case examples to illustrate ways in which families may create & sustain suicidal behaviour in certain members. Suicidal behaviour may be facilitated by families’ separation & anxiety, encouragement of deviant behaviour, & the use of a member as a scapegoat. It is argued that the suicidal person’s […]