The main factors of repetition: review of some results of the Pecs Center in the WHO/EURO Multicentre Study on Suicidal Behaviour

The authors obtained more information about the characteristics of suicide attempters in order to examine the most important differences between those who attempted suicide for the first time (first-evers) and those who had a previous attempt (repeaters). Within the framework of the WHO/EURO Multicentre Study on Suicidal Behaviour in Pecs Center, 1158 cases of parasuicide were collected over 4 years (July 1, 1997-June 30, 2001). In the monitoring sample, 728 (62.9%) parasuicide acts were committed by women and 430 (37.1%) by men, and more than half of the attempters had made a previous attempt In the logistic regression model a higher risk of repetition was found to be related to being divorced (OR 1.84), unemployed or economically inactive (OR 1.45), and without higher education (OR 2.54). In the sample, mental disorders were the most significant risk factor for repeated attempts. The odds ratio was highest (OR 5) for personality disorders. The results may reflect (besides some factors of social destabilization) a higher importance of major mental health problems among repeaters. For this reason, more effective recognition and treatment of the underlying psychiatric and social conditions of suicide attempters has special importance to prevent future suicidal behaviour.     

Definitions of suicidal behavior: lessons learned from the WHo/EURO multicentre Study

Based on the experience matured during the 15 years of the WHO/EURO Multicentre Study on Suicidal Behavior, this paper provides an excursus on main elements that characterize components for definitional needs. It describes the rationale for choosing the initial set of definitions within the study and the subsequent problems and developments. As a result, unifying terminologies are proposed.     

Illegal Economic and Transit Migration in the Czech Republic: A Study of Individual Migrants' Behaviour

This article examines the essential features of international migration and the illegal working activities of migrants in the Czech Republic, with a closer insight into the processes of trafficking and smuggling. The research is based on semi-structured interviews with 63 illegal migrants, both from countries of the former Soviet Union (mainly Ukraine) and developing countries in 2005 and 2006. The main conclusion of the analysis is that, in many ways, the situation of illegal labour and transit migration in the Czech Republic is similar to that in countries with a longer experience as target countries for immigration.     

Rationality,Culture, and Structure in the Making of Suicide Bombers: A Preliminary Theoretical Synthesis and Illustrative Case Study

Suicidal violence involves three levels of analysis: individual motivations, organizational strategies, and societal conflicts. Using rationalist, culturalist, and structuralist approaches to contentious politics, this article explores the intersection of rationality, norms, and conflict in the making of extreme violence. The case of Palestinian suicide bombers demonstrates the interdependence of the three approaches to explaining suicidal violence. For individuals, self-sacrifice is conceived as an act of personal redemption rooted in religious morality and national salvation. For organizations, human bombs provide strategic advantages in the context of asymmetrical warfare. For collectivities, martyrs are venerated when three conditions converge: (1) cultural norms encompass symbolic narratives that honor martyrdom; (2) legitimate authorities acquiesce to extreme violence; and (3) conflicts generate feelings of victimization and threat by external enemies.     

Suicide and the media. Part II: Portrayal in fictional media

The association between the portrayal of suicide in fictional media and actual suicide has been debated since 1774, when it was asserted that Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther had led people to take their own lives. Since that time, a plethora of studies considering the association has been conducted. This review considered 34 studies examining the impact of fictional portrayal of suicide (in film and television, music, and plays) on actual suicidal behavior. It asked the question: "Is there any association, and if so, can it be considered causal?" Using strict criteria to establish causality, we found that the evidence was more equivocal than was the case for nonfictional reporting.     

Suicide and the media. Part I: Reportage in nonfictional media

Numerous studies have considered the association between media reporting and portrayal of suicide and actual suicidal behavior or ideation. This review considered 42 studies that have examined the nonfiction media (newspapers, television, and books). Consideration was given to the extent to which inferences could be made about the relationship between portrayal of suicide in the given media and actual suicidal behavior in terms of: the strength of its association; and the extent to which it could be considered causal. The review demonstrated that there is an association between nonfictional media portrayal of suicide and actual suicide. The association satisfies sufficient of the criteria of consistency, strength, temporality, specificity and coherence for it to be deemed causal.     

Palestinian Suicide Terrorism in the Second Intifada: Motivations and Organizational Aspects

Suicide terrorism has developed into a widely used tactic, and arguably one of the major strategic threats facing some countries. This article explores various issues related to Palestinian suicide terrorism by presenting a two-phase model to explain the processes and factors underlying the development of Palestinian suicide bombers, and the execution of suicide bombing attacks. The model is applied to the case of suicide attacks that have occurred in the course of the first 21 months of the Second Intifada, from September 2000 to June 2002. The assumptions of the model are tested by taking an in-depth look into the various motives leading individual Palestinians to volunteer for suicide missions, and by discussing the activities and major functions of the organizations that have employed this modus operandi in the specified time frame. It will be concluded that while a counter-terrorism strategy aimed at targeting terrorist organizations may offer short-term gains, in the long run Israel will need to identify ways of removing or reducing the incentives that lead some Palestinians to volunteer for suicide missions.     

Evolution of the Global Jihad: Female Suicide Bombers in Iraq

Female suicide bombers are increasingly seen in conflicts throughout the world; in recent years, they have become much more prevalent in religious-fundamentalist conflict. Specifically, global jihadist groups are increasingly incorporating female suicide bombers into their operations, a significant ideological and operational shift for most of these groups. Jihadist groups are using women to fill a recruiting void, to achieve tactical surprise, and for strategic purposes. Female suicide bombers are likely to emerge in jihadist conflicts throughout the world, from Nigeria to Pakistan and beyond.     

Household Saving Behaviour in an Extended Life Cycle Model: A Comparative Study of China and India

This paper examines the determinants of household saving in China and India over the last few decades using the life cycle model, with appropriate modifications to account for the expected benefits of pension saving. Consistent with the predictions made in the life cycle model, higher income growth promotes more household saving, and higher age dependency does the opposite. An increase in the inflation rate appears to encourage household saving. Interestingly, the evidence suggests that an increase in expected pension benefits tends to discourage household saving in China in the long run, but the reverse is found in India.     

Information Improves Provider Behaviour: A Replication Study of a Community-Based Monitoring Programme in Uganda

In ‘Power to the People: Evidence from a Randomised Field Experiment on Community-Based Monitoring in Uganda’ (2009), Björkman and Svensson show that a relatively simple intervention – providing community-level health service delivery information and guidance on community-based monitoring – improved provider behaviour, health care utilisation, and health outcomes. In this paper we conduct a pure replication of the original study and extend the original analysis. Overall, we find that the intervention modified healthcare provider behaviours and utilisation, but that the results surrounding the programme’s impact on health outcomes appear less robust.     

Current understandings of suicide survivor issues: research, practice, and plans. Report of the 1st International Suicide Postvention Seminar, September 8, 2006, Portoroz, Slovenia

The goals of the Postvention Taskforce of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) are to increase awareness of postvention and survivor issues. One of the strategies is to organize meetings. We report on the 1st International Suicide Postvention Seminar, held as a 1-day preevent at the 11th European Symposium on Suicide and Suicidal Behavior in Portoroz, Slovenia, September 2006. The seminar provided a state of the art review of the postvention field, with plenary presentations on research, psychotherapeutic care, development of national networks, and of postvention materials. We summarize the presentations below.     

Suicide Terrorism in Iraq: A Preliminary Assessment of the Quantitative Data and Documentary Evidence

This preliminary assessment of suicide terrorism in Iraq sheds light on why some groups in the insurgency employ suicide attacks although others do not. The unequal utilization of suicide bombings corresponds to divergent strategies in the insurgency. Some groups fight to achieve system reintegration, whereas others send suicide bombers to collapse the emerging political order. Quantitative data and documentary evidence substantiate the finding that suicide terrorism is carried out by groups that cannot compete in any future political and institutional alignments in Iraq's new coalition politics. Suicide terrorism is intended to produce system collapse, sectarian warfare, and a failed state.