Background: Only few studies have so far confirmed the clear connection of
attitudes toward suicide with prevalence of suicidal behavior, and there are several
contradictory findings on the balance ...of this relationship. Slovenia has long had a very high
suicide rate, including in the population of adolescents. Aims: To examine
attitudes of Slovene adolescents toward suicide and their connection to different suicide risk
factors. Methods: A questionnaire on attitudes toward suicide was given to 423
high school students from three regions based on the different regional suicide rates.
Results: The results proved our expectation of girls having more permissive
attitudes toward suicide than boys. Also, a permissive attitude was positively associated with
the majority of suicide risk factors. Conclusions: In the light of certain
limitations of the study we discuss the implications of the main finding, namely, that
permissive attitudes toward suicide are more likely a risk than a safety factor for suicidal
behavior.
Background: Most patients that commit suicide consult their GPs before their death. This topic is often surrounded by secrecy and associated with guilt and shame. There is a lack of knowledge about ...support for GPs after patient suicide.
Objectives: To identify the widest range of Slovenian GPs' problems and needs in connection with patient suicide, and, based on the findings of the study, to prepare ways to assist GPs after patient suicide.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews were held with GPs that had experienced a patient's suicide during their professional career until saturation was reached. The interview guide was piloted. Twenty-two in-depth interviews were carried out between April 2012 and February 2013. Transcripts were coded and thematically analysed using qualitative content analysis.
Results: Participating GPs suggested possible forms of support, most frequently individual consultation with a psychologist or a psychiatrist, in person, by phone, or via e-mail. Balint groups, group consultations and various workshops on suicide or depression would be a preferable form of support. Some GPs perceived critical incident review as an attempt to blame them, whereas others saw it as an opportunity for support. A group of peers that could discuss professional dilemmas in which more experienced GPs would help younger GPs would be helpful.
Conclusion: Slovenian GPs did not have any formal support system at the time of the research, but they would appreciate such a possibility.
Abstract:
This paper presents similar findings about the
lack of support and understanding for people bereaved through suicide from four
different countries and reports on each country's unique ...response to this
challenge. This paper reports on presentations made at the conference workshop
of the International Association for Suicide Prevention meeting in Chennai in
2001, and on participants' suggestions of how best to help the
bereaved.
The goals of the Postvention Taskforce of
the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) are to
increase awareness of postvention and survivor issues. One of the strategies is
to ...organize meetings. We report on the 1st International Suicide Postvention
Seminar, held as a 1-day preevent at the 11th European Symposium on
Suicide and Suicidal Behavior in Portoroz, Slovenia, September 2006. The
seminar provided a state of the art review of the postvention field, with
plenary presentations on research, psychotherapeutic care, development of
national networks, and of postvention materials. We summarize the presentations
below.
Today there exist different views on origins of suicidal behaviour, which can influence the help-seeking behaviour and the adherence to the treatment of suicidal people.
The beliefs lay people and ...patients have about the origins of suicidal behaviour as well as the compatibility of their beliefs with the views of the mental health personnel (general practitioners and psychiatrists) were assessed. 45 semi-structured interviews with the general population, suicide attempters, general practitioners and psychiatrists were conducted, audio typed, transcribed and a thematic analysis of the data was carried out.
The results indicated the incompatibility of the views. The general population and the suicide attempters favoured psychological explanations of suicidal behaviour, whereas the general practitioners and psychiatrists promoted medical explanations. The only common theme was perception of the suicidal crisis as a crucial factor in suicidality.
Lay people and experts believe that suicidal crisis is the main origin of suicidal behaviour. The awareness of this common denominator and also of the differences in opinions between lay people and experts should be kept in mind when planning and implementing prevention and treatment programmes if we wish to promote help-seeking behaviour and attain good adherence to treatment.
The paper presents a discussion between two therapists-one female, the other male, one a clinical psychologist and the other a psychiatrist, one working in an institution and the other in a private ...practiceeach surviving the suicide of a client. It discusses what helped
Emotional reactions of therapists who experienced the death by suicide of one or more of their patients were investigated. Data were collected by a questionnaire containing both objective and ...open‐ended items from 27 men and 36 women, psychiatrists and psychologists, working in psychiatric hospitals in Slovenia. The most frequently reported reactions by the therapists were of increased caution in the treatment of their patients and an increase in conferring with colleagues, partners, and supervisors. About two thirds reported experiencing strong guilt feelings along with other commonly reported survivor feelings of grief, depression, and loss. Gender differences were apparent (women more often felt shame and guilt, sought consolation, or doubted their professional knowledge). No significant differences appeared between disciplines and years of work experience. Agreement was general that support was important both professionally and personally. Suggestions are offered to help the therapist work through the trauma of a patient's suicide.
Surviving the Legacy of Suicide Grad, Onja T; Andriessen, Karl
The International Handbook of Suicide Prevention,
09/2016
Book Chapter
Through the history of society, suicide remains an enigmatic act that ends the pain of one but brings new pain to those left behind. For various reasons, those bereaved by suicide are at increased ...risk of developing suicidal behavior themselves, either as a result of biopsy‐chosocial vulnerability or because of identification with someone close who has died by suicide. When it became clear that suicide usually provokes many problems in the close and wider social environment, there were many ambiguities about the terms suicide survivor, grief, bereavement, and mourning‐indeed, consensus definitions were absent. Despite common feelings experienced by many bereaved individuals, the process of bereavement after a suicide is as unique as a 'fingerprint'. The intensity and the duration of all emotional reactions are again unique for each bereaved individual, and the following processes and experiences might be more pronounced in bereavement after suicide.
Loss of a spouse provokes different reactions, which depend on the mode of death, age of the deceased and bereaved, length of the relationship, personality structure of the bereaved, and the social ...and cultural demands required after the death. The objective of the study was to obtain the average pattern of bereavement process after different modes of death and how it changes after a period of one year. Suicide survivors group was compared to the groups of bereaved after traffic accidents and after terminal illness. All the respondents were interviewed twice: two months after the death and a year after. The instruments used were the Beck Depression Inventory, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and Bereavement Scale. The results show fewer differences between the groups than expected. The depression level and some other emotional reactions decline over a year and some increase, especially in the group of bereaved after accident. The significant differences between the groups are discussed. The results of the study will be used as a ground for the proposed psychotherapeutic help for the bereaved spouses, if deemed necessary.
Information obtained at interview from 1,646 parasuicide patients in 14 regions in 13 European countries participating in the WHO/EURO Multicentre Study on Suicidal Behaviour was used to study ...self‐reported intentions involved in parasuicide. Comparisons were made across cultures, genders, and age groups. Although some statistically significant differences were found, the effect sizes were very small. The main finding from this study is thus that parasuicide patients in different countries tend to indicate that similar types of intentions are involved in their acts of parasuicide, and that the intentions do not vary greatly with gender or age. The hypothesis that rates of suicide and parasuicide vary between regions with the frequency with which suicidal intention is indicated by the patients was also tested, but was supported only for women and in relation to national suicide rates. The findings from this study are likely to be generalizable to other settings and have implications for clinical practice.
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