Suicidal ideation among adolescents in relation to recalled exposure to violence

Abstract

The relationship between exposure to violence and vulnerability to suicide among adolescents was examined. The topic was initiated by the rapid increase in adolescent's exposure to violence and the sparse systematic research available on its relationship to attitudes about life and death. The study's main hypothesis is that high levels of exposure to violence are associated with high suicide risk according to two conceptual paradigms--Fear of Death and Attraction and Repulsion to Life. Eighty-five adolescents were administered three self report questionnaires. The questionnaires assessed levels of exposure to violence, fear of death, and attitudes towards life and death. Those who had been exposed to a high level of violence reported attitudes synonymous with the profile of an individual at risk for suicide (low fear of death, low repulsion to death, and low attraction to life; high repulsion to life and high attraction to death).

Gender differences in psychological distress as a mediational pathway to suicidal ideation among adolescents at high risk for victimization by violence.

“…SI is one of many adverse outcomes consistently linked to victimization in the empirical literature (Bernegger et al, 2015; Cohen, 2000; Pastore, Fisher, & Friedman, 1996). Previous findings indicate that childhood victimization (Thompson, Litrownik, et al, 2012) and physical and psychological abuse (Thompson, Proctor, et al, 2012) significantly predict SI during adolescence.…”

Wasted, overdosed, or beyond saving – To act or not to act? Heroin users’ views, assessments, and responses to witnessed overdoses in Malmö, Sweden

“…Likgiltighet inför döden har uppmärksammats bland heroinanvändare i tidigare studier Plumridge & Chetwynd 1999;. Likgiltighet har visat sig ha en stor betydelse för suicidrelaterat beteende (Cohen 2000).…”

Dancing with Death: The Grey Area between Suicide Related Behavior, Indifference and Risk Behaviors of Heroin Users

“…Indifference Another complex phenomenon surrounding SRB in heroin users is the influence of indifference, or fatalism (whereby an individual engages in activities which are harmful to themselves over a long period but do not fit within the acute model commonly constructed as "suicide") and where this fits within models of SRB. From Durkheim's original research into suicide (1952/1897), indifference and attitudes towards life and death, have been found to play an important role in suicidal behavior (Cohen, 2000). It has been demonstrated that suicidal adolescents fear death to a lesser degree than nonsuicidal people (Orbach, 1988).…”