1Suicideo The center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines Suicide as “death from injury, poisoning or suffocation where there is evidence that the injury was self-inflicted and that the decedent intended to kill himself/herself”o Is among the three leading causes of death world-wide among people age 15 to 44o Completed Suicide: end in death o Suicide attempts: which may or may not end in death o Suicidal ideation: or thoughto Suicidal attempts are 20 times as common as complete suicides o 3% of the population make a suicide attempt sometime in their lives and 13% have suicidal thoughts at some time o In the U.S: 33,000 a year, internationally: a million each year Gender Differences o Two or three times more women than men attempt suicide but men are four times more likely than women to complete suicideo Men tend to choose more lethal methods of suicide than do women More than half of men who kill themselves use firearms For women, the most common method is poisoninEthnic and Cross-Cultural Differences o In the united states: European Americas have higher suicide rates than all the other groups-approx. 12 people per 100,000 population Native Americans are second with 11 people per 100,000; suicide is tied to poverty, lack of education and hope, discrimination, substance abuse, and the easy availability of firearms. Suicide rates among African American males have increased greatly in recent decades o Cross National differences: Higher rates in much of Europe, the former Soviet Union and Australia Lower rates in Latin America and South America The suicide rates in the United States, Canada and England fall between two extremes. The differences may be due in part to cultural and religious norms People who belong to religions that expressly forbid suicide and are less likely to attempt it. Suicide in Children and Adolescents o Each year 17% of teenagers in the US seriously consider suicide o 15% actually make a specific plan to attempt suicide o More than 8% attempt suicide o And about 2% make a serious suicide attempt that requires medical attention o Suicide may become more common in adolences than in chuldreen because the rates of several psychopathology are tied to suicide Depression, anxiety disorders and substance abuse o Adolescents have higher suicide rates than children because They are more sophisticated than children in their thinking and can contemplate suicide more clearly. Adolescents simply may have readier access to the means to commit suicide than children (guns & drugs) o Like adults, girls are more likely to attempt suicide but boys are more like to succeed Males are 6 times more likely than females in the age range to commit suicide o Homosexual and bisexual adolescents have rates of suicide attempts 2 to 6 times higher than those of heterosexual adolescents o Hispanic females have especially high rates of suicidal thoughts and plans to attempt suicide compared to Hispanic males and adolescents from other racial/ethnic Might be due to a clash of being highly acculturated to American values but their parents might reject girls’ bids for independence because they may hold traditional cultural values of familism College Students o 9% say they have thought about committing suicide since entering college amd 1% said they had attempted suicide while at college o Only 20% of the students who had contemplated suicide had sought any type of counseling Suicide in Older Adults o The highest risk is among Europeans American men over age 85.3o When most older people attempt suicide, they fully intend to die o Some older people commit suicide because they can not tolerate the loss of their spouse of other lost one Suicide rate are relatively highest in the first year after a loss but remain relatively high for several years o Others wish to escape the pain and suffering of debilitating illness Particularly strong motive for suicide among men who are reluctant to become a burden to others o 44% of older people who committed suicide said they rather be dead than being placed in a nursing home Non suicidal Self-injury o Nonsuicidal self-injurt or NSSI: repeatedly cutting, burning, puncturing, or otherwise significantly injuring their skin with no intend to die 13 to 45% of adolescents report having engaged in NSSI at some time in their lives Individuals who engage in NSSI are at increased risk for suicide attempts Theroies suggest it is a way of regulating emotional and/or influencing the docial environment People who engage in NSSI often report that feeling pain and seeing blood actually calms them and releases tension To receive this diagnose, individuals must have engaged in NSSI behaviors on 5 or more days in the past year, without suicidal intent Requires that the NSSI behaviors are accompanied by negative thoughts or feelings that the individual intends to alleviate with the NSSI behaviors and frequent preoccupations with, and urges to engage in NSSI acts Understanding Suicide o Suicide is difficult to study because:1. Suicide is familiar, but relatively rare2. Rely on family/friends for information, but they may forget selective information 3. Majority who contemplate, never commit4. Only ¼ leave notes5. We cannot talk to the dead 6. Suicide Theories are not facts, stable, nor mutually exclusiveo Durkheim’s focused on the mindsets certain social conditions create that increase the risk for suicide Egotistic suicide: is committed by people who feel alienated from to others, empty of social contacts and alone in an unsupportive world Anomic suicide: committed by people who experience severe disorientation because of a major change in their relationship to society Altruistic suicide: Committed by people who believe that taking their life will benefit society His theory suggests that social ties and integration into society will help prevent suicide if the society discourages suicide and supports individuals in overcoming negative situations in ways other than suicide However, if a society supports suicide as a beneficial act in some situations, such society may promote suicide o Psychological Disorders and Suicide More than 90% of people who commit suicide probably have been suffering from a diagnosable mental disorder The best predictor of future suicidal though t and behavior is past suicidal though and behavior It is critically important that
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