Bazrafshan, M. R., Sharif, F., Molazem, Z., & Mani, A. (2016). Exploring the risk factors
contributing to suicide attempt among adolescents: A qualitative study. Iranian journal of
nursing and midwifery research, 21(1), 93-9.
These researchers looked into what drove adolescents to have suicidal tendencies by interviewing patients who were 12-19 years old. The subjects were interviewed for 2-3 days after being released from a mental health hospital and were interviewed in 70 minute periods with questions ranging from casual, such as “how was your day?” to serious, such as “how did you feel before attempting suicide?” These interviews revealed that all of the patients had ineffective ways of handling stress. This mainly stemmed from poor education about mental health and mental health stigma within society. Additional elements that influenced suicidal behavior were
(a) Individual factors and experiences (puberty, religious beliefs, stress management, level or education)
(b) family factors (family economic situations, health conditions, family relationships)
(c) social factors (suicidal portrayal in media, poor professional support)
The researchers concluded that the education of families and communities about mental health is crucial to prevent suicide and that workshops that help individuals manage stress need to be implemented.
Keilp, J. G., Sackeim, H. A., Brodsky, B. S., Oquendo, M. A., Malone, K. M., & Mann, J. J.
(2001, May). Neuropsychological dysfunction in depressed suicide attempters. American
Journal of Psychiatry, 158(5), 735-741. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.158.5.735
Researchers wanted to see if lower levels of neuropsychological function were related to different levels of depression. The team measured neuropsychological performance among depressed patients who had at least one prior suicide attempt with a high risk of death, depressed patients who had at least one prior suicide attempt with a low risk of death, depressed patients with no suicide attempts and people who were not depressed. The groups were tested for neuropsychological function by performing tasks related to general intellectual functioning, motor functions, attention, memory and executive functioning.
The depressed patients who had at least one prior suicide attempt with a high risk of death performed the worse on all of the tests out of all the groups. Researchers found that these patients had more impairment in executive functioning than depressed patients who had not attempted suicide. They reasoned that this was because the more severe depression becomes, the more it negatively affects the brain. For example, researchers found that the most depressed patients had the smallest hippocampus which negatively impacted memory by inhibiting certain neurotransmitters, such as glutamate. Researchers also found that signals from peripheral stimulus were inhibited due to a deficiency in acetylcholine which decreased behavior that works towards achieving a goal.
Duberstein, R. R., Conwell, Y., Conner, R. R., Eberly, S., Evinger, J. S., & Caine, E. E. (2004,
October 8). Poor social integration and suicide: fact or artifact? A case-control study. Psychology Med, 34`(7), 1331-1337. Retrieved from US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health (15697059).
Researchers designed a study to prove that poor social integration increases suicide risk. Poor integration leads to inability to adjust to new surroundings or setbacks which can accentuate a feeling of loneliness and lower production level in adults. The study was conducted by interviewing 86 people who had attempted suicide and 86 people who were the living controls. After the interviews were conducted, patterns showed that those who attempted suicide were less likely to be married, have children or live in a stable family. Even if those who attempted were married, their marriages were more likely to regress. They were also less likely to engage in religion or community activities and more likely to engage in substance abuse.
The researchers resulted that poor social integration and suicide are inextricably tied together. People who are antisocial are more at risk of developing mental disorders than individuals who are solely around those who are mentally ill. These findings can be used to better target the cause of one’s mental poor mental health which could eventually lead towards better intervention.
Nock, M. K., Deming, C. A., Fullerton, C. S., Gilman, S. E., Goldenberg, M., Kessler, R. C., &
McCarroll, J. E. (2013, June). Suicide among soldiers: A review of psychosocial risk and
protective factors. Guilford Press, 76(2), 97-125. doi:[10.1521/psyc.2013.76.2.97]
Researchers wanted to identify the overwhelming cause of suicide among individuals in the military, review the current protective methods of suicide within the military and describe why the current methods are not very efficient. Researchers noticed that, in recent years, the suicide rate in the U.S Army is surpassing the rate of the general population.
They found that among the individuals who were committing suicide in the military, they were people who had previous background of familial and educational struggle. When these individuals found no relief in the military and were encountered with even more stress, this led them to believe that suicide was the only option. However, researchers found that there are protective measures that can be implemented to prevent less people from committing suicide. One method they found effective was proper initial training of recognizing the symptoms of depression with every person entering the first ranks. This brought more recognition to mental health which instilled a commonality within every soldier. Other protective factors were reforming how soldiers were able to connect with their family, build social networks within the military, partake in religious affiliations and receive proper mental health treatment. The results of this study led to the partnership of the Army STARRS (Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers) and the National Institute of Mental Health to prevent future deaths.
Sinyor, M., Schaffer, A., Nishikawa, Y., Redelmeir, D., Niederkrotenthaler, T., Sareen, J., & Levitt,
A. J. (2018, July). The association between suicide deaths and putatively harmful and
protective factors in media reports. CMAJ, 190(30), 900-907. doi:[10.1503/cmaj.170698]
Researchers claimed that media tends to sensationalize suicide which leads to suicide contagion. They conducted this study by reviewing how 13 major publication in Toronto reported suicide. They then used multivariable logistic regression to determine whether or not there were increases or decreases in suicide deaths within 7 days after publication compared to a control window.
From 2011 to 2014, there were 6367 articles with suicide as the major focus and 947 suicide deaths. Elements most strongly and independently associated with increased suicides were a statement about the inevitability of suicide. Such reports were on suicides by asphyxia, jumping from a building, suicide pacts, or headlines that included the suicide method.
The results of the study identified significant associations between several specific elements of media reports and suicide deaths. It suggests that reporting on suicide can have a meaningful impact on suicide deaths and that journalists and media outlets and organizations should carefully consider the specific content of reports before publication.
Spillane, A., Larkin, C., Corcoran, P., Matvienko-Sikar, K., Riordan, F., & Arensman, E. (2017,
December 12). BMC psychology, 17(939). doi:[10.1186/s12889-017-4930-3]
This review article combined research about the health implications of suicide bereavement compared to other causes of death. The article stated that there is some evidence of higher morbidity and increase chance of having chronic illness in those who have lost a loved one to suicide, especially bereaved parents who have lost their child to suicide. The article included 24 studies that involved the effect of suicide on family members. These studies found that family members of a suicide were more likely to experience pain, more physical illnesses and poorer general health. They were also at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Additionally, a further study conducted in the United States found that suicide-bereaved children visited a general practitioner less frequently than non-suicide bereaved children. These review findings are relevant for clinicians working with people affected by suicide as they highlight that such individuals are at increased risk of several adverse health outcomes. Future research should examine the behaviours of suicide-bereaved and non-suicide bereaved family members as they may confound the association between exposure and outcome.