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Parasuicide
 | Attempted suicide |
Suicide Statistics
| Suicide is the ninth most common cause of death in the
U.S.A. |
| There are approximately 30,000 certified suicides a year.
 | Underrepresent actual incidence |
|
| Suicide rate is 12.3, up slightly |
| The suicide rate in the U.S.A. is highest among elderly
people. |
Bad Economic Times
| Increase of suicide rates |
White Males
| Completed suicides come frequently from this segment of
the U.S. population |
Age
| White male increases with age |
| Females and nonwhites reach their peak earlier in adult
life |
American Youth
| Suicide rates increases
| male predominating |
|
| Suicide is the 8th leading cause of death among American
youth (ages 5-24) |
Groups at Risk
| City dwellers |
| Divorced |
| Suffering from depression |
| Life-threatening illness |
African- American Women
| Over the past quarter of a century, the suicide rates
among African- American women have declined |
Regions
| The highest suicide rates in the U.S.A. are found in low
density states such as Nevada and New Mexico. |
Young Women
| Make more suicide attempts than other age-gender groups. |
Families of Suicidal Youth
| Rigid rules |
| Long term patterns of family dysfunction. |
| "Smother love" that discourages the youth's
maturation and independence. |
| Poor communication patterns within the family. |
Higher Risk of Suicide Among
Youth
| Reasons for living
| Wanting to experience life. |
| Not fair to leave parents by themselves. |
| Wanting to grow together with friends. |
| Not fear of going to hell. |
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Suicide Behavior in Children
| Pressure from family |
| Depressed attitude |
| Coping attempts that don’t work well |
| Accumulated frustrations and loss of self-confidence |
Alcohol and Drug Abuse
| More common among suicidal people |
| Often associated with suicide even when the person drinks
on "jags" rather than constantly |
| Even more frequently related to suicide with youth than
with other age groups |
Suicide and the Elderly
| Since 1990, the largest increase in the U.S.A. suicide
rate has been among white men age 85 and above. |
| Subintentional
| not looking after health and withdrawing |
|
| Firearms are the most common choice of suicide method for
elderly men and women in the U.S.A. |
Risk Factors of Suicide in
Elderly
| white, male, over 65, rural area or transient inner city |
| social isolation |
| depression |
| physical illness |
| alcohol abuse |
| failure to cope with stress |
| loss of relationships |
Indicators of Suicide Risk in
Elderly
| Loss of appetite. |
| Stooped, withdrawn, fatigued. |
| Lack of eye contact. |
Native American Suicide
| More frequent among youth than elderly |
| Highest rate of all ethnic and racial subpopulations |
| Alcohol consumption is major factor |
| Differences in tribes |
High-Risk Situations
| The risk for suicide of people with HIV/AIDS is 20 times
greater than the general population. |
| Suicide rates in cities with major gambling operations
are higher than average for visitors and for residents |
| Schoolyard bullies and peer harrasment |
| "Suicide by cop" |
Suicide As Sinful
| St. Augustine and St. Thomas established the Catholic
position against suicide by offering all the following arguments:
| The Sixth Commandment: "Thou shalt not kill." |
| Suicide eliminates the opportunity to repent of sins. |
| Only God has the right to kill. |
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| How does this relate to an evangelical Christian view? |
Suicide as Criminal
| Suicide is on the books as a crime
| Only in two local jurisdictions in Kentucky and South
Carolina (where it is not enforced) |
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Suicide As Weakness or Madness
| Darwin’s survival-of-the-fitness |
| "If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the
kitchen!" |
Suicide as "The Great
Death"
| The Samurai who sought death on the battlefield became a
symbol for others who considered suicide to be a desirable way of ending their lives. |
Suicide as a Rational Alternative
| To living in an ugly and harsh world was favorably
regarded by the Stoics. |
Durkheim's Sociological Theory of
Suicide
| Egoistic suicide
| not under sufficient control by societal norms and
obligations. |
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| Altruistic suicide
| have extremely high or excessive concern for society (Kamikaze). |
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| Anomic suicide
| rejected by society |
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| Fatalistic suicide
| too much control by society (prisons) |
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Individual Meanings of Suicide
Suicide for Reunion
| Thought in mind of having a reunion with a loved one who
is dead |
Suicide for Rest and Refuge
| Sleep-death analogy |
| Escapist tendencies |
Suicide for Revenge
| Rejection
| combined with low self-esteem |
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Penalty of Failure
| People who were intercepted by others before they could
make a suicidal leap from The Golden Gate or Bay bridges in San Francisco did not make
subsequent fatal suicide attempts. |
Psychoanalytical
| Sigmund Freud attempted to explain suicidality through
his theory that the instincts of Life and death are in constant conflict or negotiation
with each other. |
Descent Toward Suicide
According to Richard Heckler, the first event in what
might prove to be a sequence ending in a fatal suicide attempt is loss or trauma early in
life.
Descent Toward Suicide
| Loss of hope |
| A sense of sinking slowly into a subhuman kind of
existence. |
| Withdrawal and communication breakdown |
| Constructing a personality facade to hide behind. |
| Suicidal trance |
| Trapped in tunnel |
| Death as release |
Facts and Myths
| People who talk about suicide will not actually take
their own lives. |
| Only depressed people commit suicide. |
| Only crazy people |
| Don’t ask |
| Inherited |
Websites
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