In 2016, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report indicating that rates of suicides for farmers were 84.5 per 100,000, four times higher than the general population and ...higher than other high-risk groups, such as military veterans. Five months later, it was retracted due to a classification error. However, the report had already made national and global news, sparking a sense of urgency among policy makers, the media, and farm groups. Despite evidence that occupational stress in agriculture stems from structural sources, such as volatile economic conditions resulting from trade instability and unstable commodity prices, solutions to the problem of suicide among farmers tend to emphasize individualized actions, such as seeking counseling and mental health support. This paper examines recent media and policy initiatives as well as interactions among farm support agencies. We argue that despite evidence of structural challenges, the solutions proposed typically require individualized action by farmers. This response is consistent with agrarian ideologies that portray farmers as uniquely independent actors and absolves policy makers, lenders, and agribusinesses of culpability in promoting an agricultural industry that is responsible for high levels of occupational stress among its most critical participants.
The existing literature provides evidence of the link between media reporting and suicide in terms of either preventive or provocative effects. Hence, working with media representatives on ...responsible reporting on suicide is of great importance. Until recently in Slovenia, there has been an obvious lack of communication between media representatives and suicidologists. The aims of the present study were twofold; firstly, to introduce the adaptation and dissemination of intervention on responsible media reporting, and secondly, to evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented intervention on suicide reporting.
We used a pre-post research design. Newspaper articles were retrieved over two 12-month periods: the baseline period and the follow-up period. In between, we had a year of implementation of our intervention program (launching and disseminating the Guidelines via workshops). Each retrieved article was rated qualitatively with respect to its adherence to the Guidelines.
The comparison of baseline and follow-up periods revealed some significant differences. Reporting in the follow-up period was less sensationalistic, there was less reporting about specific cases of suicides and more about causes of suicide and pathways out of mental distress. Furthermore, in the follow-up period, there was a significant improvement related to headlines of media articles. Contact information about where to seek help was more often included in the articles.
The findings are promising, but working with the media needs to be continuous and ongoing if sustainable results are to be achieved.
Introduction. Suicide is a multidimensional problem. Observations of family history of suicide suggest the existence of a genetic vulnerability to suicidal behaviour.
Aim. Starting with a historical ...perspective, the article reviews current knowledge of a genetic vulnerability to suicidal behaviour, distinct from the genetic vulnerability to psychiatric disorders, focused on clinical and population-based studies, and findings from recent molecular genetics association studies.
Method. The review includes peer-reviewed research articles and review papers from the professional literature in English language, retrieved from PubMed/Medline and PsycINFO.
Results. The research literature confirms a existence of a genetic vulnerability to suicidal behaviour. Even though the results of individual studies are difficult to compare, genetic influences could explain up to half of the variance of the occurrence of suicide.
Conclusion. Genetic vulnerability could be a distal risk factor for suicide, which helps us to understand the occurrence of suicide among vulnerable people. Ethical implications of such vulnerability are highlighted.
Uvod. Samomor je večrazsežnostni problem. S študijami družinskih anamnez samomorilnega vedenja je bilo ugotovljeno, da bi genetska komponenta lahko vplivala na občutljivost za samomorilno vedenje.
Namen. Članek skozi zgodovinski vidik proučuje današnje poznavanje genetske ranljivosti za samomorilno vedenje, ki se razlikuje od genetske ranljivosti za psihiatrične motnje v kliničnih in populacijskih študijah ter prikazuje ugotovitve zadnjih študij molekularno genetskih raziskav.
Metoda. Strokovni pregled vključuje raziskovalne članke in poročila iz strokovne literature v angleškem jeziku, pridobljene iz PubMed/Medine in PsycINFO.
Rezultati. Pregled obstoječe strokovne literature kaže na prisotnost genetske komponente kot dejavnika tveganja za samomorilno vedenje. Čeprav je rezultate posameznih študij težko primerjati, pa lahko genetski vplivi pojasnijo tudi do polovico različnih pojavov samomorilnega vedenja.
Zaključek. Genetska ranljivost bi lahko bila distalni dejavnik tveganja za samomor, kar nam pomaga razumeti pojav samomora med osebami s tveganjem za samomorilno vedenje. S tega pogleda so zajeta tudi etična vprašanja.
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