John F. Gunn

Thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness in suicide notes.

BACKGROUND Joiners interpersonal theory of suicide postulates that suicide occurs because of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness, combined with a capability for committing suicide. AIMS The present study examines the frequency of the presence of the themes of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness in suicide notes. METHODS A total of 261 suicide notes from 1091 consecutive completed suicides in Tasmania were rated for the presence of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. RESULTS Contrary to the theory, few suicide notes were found to include perceived burdensomeness (10.3%) and thwarted belongingness (30.7%), and only 4.2% had both themes. The notes of women more often contained the theme of perceived burdensomeness, while the notes of younger suicides more often contained the theme of thwarted belongingness. CONCLUSIONS Joiners theory of suicide may apply to only a small percentage of suicides who leave suicide notes.

Warning signs for suicide in Internet forums

The presence of 10 warning signs for suicide proposed by the American Association of Suicidology was compared in 215 postings on a suicide forum and 94 postings on a self-injury forum. The suicide forum postings received a higher score on the 10 signs than the self-injury forum postings, and significant differences were found for 6 of the 10 signs: suicidal ideation, purposelessness, trapped, hopelessness, withdrawal, and, in the reverse direction, recklessness. Overall, the findings support the usefulness of the warning signs in identifying suicidal individuals.

A Test of the Validity of the is Path Warm Warning Signs for Suicide

The 10 warning signs for suicide, encapsulated in the mnemonic IS PATH WARM, did not differentiate between genuine suicide notes and those written by people simulating a suicidal crisis or between notes written by completed suicides and those written by attempted suicides.

The Social Pain Model

Any explanation of human behavior that fails to take into consideration our evolutionary history is an explanation that can, at best, only answer part of the question. The following work attempts to illuminate a complex and often misunderstood behavior: suicide. In a letter to Robert Hooke, Sir Isaac Newton remarked, “if I have seen further, it is by standing on [the] shoulders of giants” (Newton, 1675). Science builds upon the findings of previous researchers and theorists, and the proposed model is no different. A number of evolutionary explanations for suicide have informed the proposed model. In this section I will touch upon this work and briefly review the core proposals of each.

Media Guidelines in the Internet Age

In recent years, there has been growing concern over the reporting by the media of those who die by suicide. Recommendations have been proposed by various groups, such as the Centers for Disease Control (1994), the World Health Organization and the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) (WHO & IASP, 2008). In addition, scholarly research has studied the impact of the media on suicidal behavior. Recent research confirmed that media attention can trigger copycat suicides. For example, Kunrath, Baumert, and Ladwig (2011) documented media reports of railway suicides in Germany affecting the subsequent number of railway suicides. Similarly, in Taiwan, Chen et al. (2012) documented an increase in suicides using charcoal burning after the suicide of a popular young female singer using this method. Bale (2001), writing on behalf of Befrienders International, stressed the importance of collaboration with the media in order to advance suicide prevention. Bale discussed the work of Keith Hawton from the Center for Suicide Research at Oxford University (UK), who was commissioned by Befrienders International to review research examining the links between suicide and media coverage. Hawton’s review resulted in several conclusions: First, reports and portrayals of suicide in the media can increase suicidal behavior, especially when those reports are emphasized (for example, put on the front page of a newspaper) and repeated; and when they describe the methods in detail (with the young and old at particular risk in this case). Second, changes made to the reporting of methods can help to prevent subsequent suicides. Third, positive benefits are found in giving information regarding crisis hotlines and encouraging their use alongside the article about a particular suicidal individual. Finally, the media often underreport the role of mental illness in suicidal behavior. Hawton’s review also suggested a series of practical considerations for dealing with the media. The first is to be realistic when working with the media: Suicides remain newsworthy, especially the suicides of celebrities, so these deaths are going to be covered by reporters regardless. Second, a media strategy should be developed for preparing and rehearsing official spokespersons in order to make the messages to reporters clear and simple. Finally, it may be useful to accept the help of prominent individuals to pass on appropriate messages. By collaborating with others, the attention of the media may be steered to topics that they can include in their articles. Pirkis and Blood (2001a, 2001b) published a series of articles in Crisis on suicide and the media. They reviewed studies on the reporting of suicide in the media in newspapers, television, and nonfiction books, and concluded that there was indeed an association between suicidal behavior and the media reporting of suicide. They urged that suicide reporting be done in a responsible manner. Pirkis and Blood also reviewed studies on fictional depictions of suicidal behavior. While the relationship between suicidal behavior and fictional portrayals of suicide (on television, in plays, and in songs) was much less clear than nonfictional reporting, the authors concluded that caution should still be taken by producers of plays and dramas that will be shown on television and in films. Pirkis and Blood noted that the influence of the Internet on suicidal behavior needs investigation as neither of their reviews examined the effects of the Internet. Gould, Jamieson, and Romer (2003) discussed the role of the media among the young and concluded that the evidence suggests they are at increased risk of contagion from media reports. They also concluded that educating producers and journalists about the risk of irresponsible reporting and about the proper ways to report suicide could prevent subsequent suicides. They further recommended that journalists and producers be educated in the best ways to present suicide that are conducive to prevention. On the other hand, Goldney (2001), while acknowledging that there is an association between media portrayals of suicide and subsequent suicidal behavior, pointed out that this association is relatively weak. Goldney recommended focusing on the positive effect that media can have on suicide prevention.

Lyrics of National Anthems and Suicide Rates

The suicide rates of 18 European nations were associated with the proportion of sad words in the lyrics of their national anthems as well as the gloominess of the music. It is suggested that a possible suicide prevention tactic might involve changing the music and lyrics of national anthems.

Emotion dysregulation, problem-solving, and hopelessness.

A sample of 87 Turkish undergraduate students was administered scales to measure hopelessness, problem-solving skills, emotion dysregulation, and psychiatric symptoms. All of the scores from these scales were strongly associated. In a multiple regression, hopelessness scores were predicted by poor problem-solving skills and emotion dysregulation.

Do suicides cluster

Three series of suicides were examined for evidence of clustering: suicides on the Hong Kong subway (1979–1989), suicides from the Golden Gate Bridge (1999–2009), and suicides in the Wayne County Jail (1967–1992). The inter-suicide intervals were examined for their fit to a random Poisson distribution and found not to differ significantly, indicating that there was no evidence for clustering.

Ethnic Differences in the Statements Made by Inmates About to be Executed in Texas

The last statements prior to execution of 331 inmates on the Texas death row from 1982 to 2009 were examined using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count computer program. African Americans and Hispanic Americans had more words related to positive emotions and feelings than did Euro-Americans, whereas Hispanic Americans had more words related to religion. The similarities in their last statements outweighed the differences.

Sex Differences in Sympathy for Attempted Suicides

In a sample of 115 undergraduates, women expressed more sympathy for hypothetical attempted suicides than did men, but not more empathy or agreement with the actions. A history of considering suicide was not associated with judgments about attempting suicide.