Suicidal ideation and self-determination in institutionalized elderly

The right to self-determination is central to the current debate on rational suicide in old age. The goal of this exploratory study was to assess the presence of self-determination in suicidal institutionalized elderly persons. Eleven elderly persons with serious suicidal ideations were matched according to age, sex, and civil status with 11 nonsuicidal persons. The results indicated that suicidal persons did not differ from nonsuicidal persons in level of self-determination. There was, however, a significant difference between groups on the social subscale. Suicidal elderly persons did not seem to take others into account when making a decision or taking action. The results are discussed from a suicide-prevention perspective.     

Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among Australian adults

Too little is known about suicidal thoughts and behaviors at a population level to recommend appropriate preventive strategies. Using data from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing (NSMHWB), this study examined rates of, and risk factors for, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. For 10,641 respondents, the 12-month and lifetime cumulative incidence rates of suicidal ideation were 3.4% and 16.0%, respectively; the 12-month and lifetime cumulative incidence rates of suicide attempts were 0.4% and 3.6%, respectively. 12-month ideation was associated with anxiety disorders (relative risk ratio [RRR] = 3.51; population attributable risk percent [PAR%] = 19.6%), affective disorders (RRR = 11.94; PAR% = 38.8%) and substance abuse disorders (RRR = 1.85; PAR% = 6.1%). Attempts in the past 12 months were also associated with anxiety disorders (RRR = 7.06; PAR% = 37.0%), affective disorders (RRR = 12.24; PAR% = 39.5%), and substance abuse disorders (RRR = 2.09; PAR% = 7.7%). Age, marital status, and disability were associated with ideation; marital status and employment status with attempts. Approximately 12% of ideators in the sample progressed to making an attempt; employment status was the only significant predictor. Reducing suicidal ideation and attempts requires a multi-faceted approach that targets those with mental illness but also adopts population-based strategies that address other factors, such as unemployment.     

对十二起大学生杀人案件的实证分析

大学生杀人犯罪是当前最为严重亦最为人们所关注的一种大学生犯罪。大学生杀人犯罪有作案手段残暴、后果严重、财杀情杀居多等特点。大学生杀人犯罪是大学生自身素质缺陷及高校教育、管理缺陷、教育腐败在一定事件压力综合作用下发生的。预防、减少大学生杀人犯罪需:改革高校教育内容、加强高校管理、惩治教育腐败、全面提高大学生素质等综合治理。     

Risk of suicide ideation associated with problem-solving ability and attitudes toward suicidal behavior in university students

The present paper investigates the risk of lifetime suicide ideation associated with problem-solving ability and attitudes toward suicidal behavior in a sample of 328 university students (41% male, 59% female). The response rate was 77% based on the total number of students registered for the relevant courses. A series of questions assessed lifetime suicide ideation, while problem solving and attitudes toward suicide were measured using the Self-Rating Problem Solving scale and four subscales of the Suicide Opinion Questionnaire, respectively (McLeavey, 1986; Domino et al., 1989). Almost one-third of the students surveyed had lifetime suicide ideation. Both genders were similar in terms of their suicide ideation history, problem solving, and attitudes toward suicidal behavior with the exception that male students were more in agreement with the attitude that suicidal behavior lacks real intent. Compared with 2% of nonideators and ideators, one in four planners reported that they would more than likely attempt suicide at some point in their life. Greater agreement with the attitude that suicidal behavior is normal was associated with significantly increased risk of being an ideator, as was poor problem solving and less agreement with the attitude that suicidal behavior is associated with mental illness.     

法治视野中的高校学生工作

20世纪初曾有一位学者说过:"大学什么都研究,就是不研究自己。"长期以来,高校的学生管理工作常常游离于法治视野之外,高校也成为现代社会法治阳光难以照射到的地方之一。然而,随着社会的发展,法治成为人类社会走向文明的历史选择,高校"无讼"的年代也已过去。从这层意义上讲,高校学生管理工作的法治化构建,既是培养高素质人才的需要,同时也是高校学生工作走向现代化的一个标志。     

大学生为什么频频陷入传销迷潭

本文分为三个部分:首先介绍了非法传销在大学生中蔓延的现实、大学生参与传销活动的特点和危害;其后着重分析为什么非法传销欺骗大学生能够屡屡得逞的深刻原因,指出主要原因在于洗脑后的精神控制,此外还包括学生自身存在的问题和大学管理的漏洞等因素;最后探讨了如何解救大学生,让他们远离传销,踏踏实实地完成学业和步入社会。     

试析当前大学生“自我中心观”的心理症结与矫治

大学生“自我中心观”的形成与发展,通常需要经历一个心理抑郁变化的长期过程。而当前的校内外多种困惑情境确实对这种变化起到了促成作用。在立足于情境分析的基础上,着力剖解“自我中心观”的心理症结与主要特征,力求提出合理的矫治措施。     

Ethnicity,Islam, and Pakistani Public Opinion toward the Pakistani Taliban

This article argues that an Islamist militant group with a relatively homogenous ethnic make-up is more likely to be supported by those of the same ethnicity even if the group makes no reference to and even downplays the importance of ethnicity. Using survey data from an original survey carried out in Pakistan in 2013, with 7,656 respondents, this hypothesis is tested in a multiple regression analysis of support for the Pakistani Taliban. The results demonstrate that co-ethnicity between the respondent and the Islamist militant group is the most important predictor of support for the militant group.     

Suicidal behavior in black South Africans

In the past suicidal behavior among Black South Africans has been largely underresearched. Earlier studies among the other main ethnic groups in the country showed suicidal behavior in those groups to be a serious problem. This article briefly reviews some of the more recent research on suicidal behavior in Black South Africans. The results indicate an apparent increase in suicidal behavior in this group. Several explanations are offered for the change in suicidal behavior in the reported clinical populations. This includes past difficulties for all South Africans to access health care facilities in the Apartheid (legal racial separation) era, and present difficulties of post-Apartheid transformation the South African society is undergoing, as the people struggle to come to terms with the deleterious effects of the former South African racial policies, related socio-cultural, socio-economic, and other pressures.     

The measurement of suicidal ideation

A four-item suicidal ideation subscale of the GHQ-28 has been used previously to assess suicidal ideation on the basis of its face validity. In order to further validate its use, this study compared scores on this scale with scores on a well-established suicidal intent scale. There was a significant correlation between scores of that subscale and the self-report component as well as the overall score of the suicidal intent scale, thereby confirming its validity in providing a standardized method for comparing suicidal ideation in different populations.     

Suicidal behavior in patients with adjustment disorders

This retrospective study characterizes the suicidal behavior in 119 patients with Axis I adjustment disorders as assessed by psychiatrists at the University of Virginia Hospital. Results indicated that 72 patients (60.5%) had documented suicide attempts in the past, 96% had been suicidal during their admission to the hospital, and 50% had attempted suicide before their hospitalization. The most commonly used method of suicide attempts was overdosing. Of the sample group with suicide attempts in the past, 67% had Axis II diagnoses of borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder. Adjustment disorder diagnosis in patients with the suicide attempts was associated with a high level of suicidality at admission, involuntary hospitalization and substance-abuse disorders. Axis II diagnoses in patients with adjustment disorders constituted risk factors for further suicidal behavior. Additional future prospective studies with reliability checks on diagnosis of adjustment disorders and suicidal behavior are needed.     

Suicidal behavior in a young offender population

Young offenders have numerous problems, including increased psychopathology, housing, and psycho-social stresses and increased rates of substance abuse. The current study investigated the contribution that substance use might make to a particularly vulnerable group of young people. Of the 300 young people approached for the study, 23.7% reported a prior suicide attempt. For this group, the most significant predictors of a prior suicide attempt were negative affect, prior exposure to violence, and housing stress. Life-time substance-use variables were most predictive of the number of suicide attempts a young person might make. Self-reported lethality (the expectation that on the last attempt the young person expected to die) was not strongly predicted by any variable. The research identifies the important role that dynamic risk factors (such as mood, substance use, and psychosocial stressors) play in increasing the risk of self-harm for young offenders, and raises the need to provide for more comprehensive discharge planning and support in order to manage these needs.     

Suicidal behavior in South Asians in the UK

Rates of deliberate self-harm have been reported to be higher among South Asians, especially women, in the UK. Two studies collected information on inception rates of deliberate self-harm in the UK and reported that rates of attempted suicide are much higher among South Asian women especially those aged 18-24. These rates are associated with high rates of cultural alienation and previous attempts. The implications of cultural conflict are discussed in this context. In addition, a hypothetical model of interrelationship of factors for both adults and adolescents is described.     

Suicidal behavior in the Ukraine, 1988-1998

This report studies the available data concerning suicide rates in the Ukraine and points to the importance of appropriate monitoring of suicides and attempted suicides. It illustrates the necessity of collecting this information and of developing "The Ukrainian National Program on Suicide Prevention." Unfortunately, suicide research and publications about suicide rates were prohibited in the former Soviet Union, so some of the data about suicidal behavior in the Ukraine is incomplete. We used the official suicide death statistics of the Ukraine from the Center of Statistics (Ukrainian Ministry of Health) for the period 1988-1998. The overall rate of suicide in the Ukraine is relatively high. Official statistics in the Ukraine show that there were 29.6 suicides per 100,000 population in 1998. The frequency of completed suicide differs in the various regions of the country, suicides being more frequent in the industrially developed regions and in the rural areas of the country than in the cities. In the western part of the Ukraine the frequency of suicide is relatively low (11.1 per 100,000). Between 1988 and 1997 the suicide rate increased by 57%. In 1998 the suicide rate for women was approximately five times lower than that for men.