Suicide by shooting and gun ownership (licenses) in Austria: Would gun restriction help?
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Adolescent↗
Biomedical subjects
Antoon A Leenaars
Publications and source records attributed to Antoon A Leenaars.
Suicide among indigenous peoples: introduction and call to action.
Indigenous people around the world have the highest suicide risk of any identifiable cultural (or ethnic) group. It is a youth epidemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for action; this special issue of Archives of Suicide Research (ASR) is an attempt to heed this call. Scholars, indigenous and non-indigenous, present data from the Arctic, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, and other regions. It is concluded that not only data, but also explanations are needed. Suicide is multi determined. Colonialism and its associated genocide are, however, cited as a common factor. Yet, much greater cooperative international efforts are needed to not only understand, but also predict and control the epidemic.
Global Health↗
The Balkan Piedmont: male suicide rates pre-war, wartime, and post-war in Serbia and Montenegro.
The epidemiology of suicide in Serbia and Montenegro from 1989 to 2003, a period of civil war, is presented. Following the break-up of former Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro underwent a period of war from 1991-1994 and another in 1999. During the war years, the number of suicides increased, reaching its peak in 1993. Male suicides outnumbered female suicides by a ratio of 2:1. Male suicides decreased slightly after the war of 1991-1994 only to rise in 1997 and continue at this higher level throughout the nineties. In Serbia alone, male suicide reached its peak in 2002 (nearly 29/100,000). The methods of suicide changed significantly, with the use of firearms doubling during and after the war years. Speculations are offered about the findings, many consistent with Durkheim's classical hypothesis concerning suicide and unpopular wars.
Demography↗
Psychotherapy with suicidal people: the commonalities.
This review article outlines the research basis for an effective approach to psychotherapy with suicidal people. It answers the question, "Is psychotherapy effective with suicidal people?" Based on the notable historical publications and the most recent (Lambert, 2004), it is shown that psychotherapy works, largely because there are commonalities (i.e., common factors) that may be the overriding important factor in all forms of psychotherapy. The therapeutic relationship is primary; this and other common factors are illustrated with suicidal people. Patient qualities, therapist qualities, and a multi-modal or multi-component approach are reviewed. On an empirical basis, it is concluded that one has to be person-centered (or patient centered): You have to know whom you are treating.
Humans↗
Suicide in Thailand, 1977 to 2002.
The epidemiology of suicide in Thailand from 1977-2002 was presented. In the years 1977 and 2002, the suicide rates were 5.9 and 7.8 per 100,000 population. This is low compared to nearby Asian countries. The highest suicide rate was 8.6 per 100,000 in the year 1999, a time of economic crisis. The ratio of male to female suicide rate was 1.14:1 in the year 1977 and increased to 3.16:1 in the year 2002. The highest suicide rate was in young males, ages 25-29 and the trend shows an increase. Despite the increasing incidence, there has been little study to date; however, HIV/AIDS has been identified as a major risk factor.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and suicide in a region of Eastern Province ("Transkei"), South Africa.
HIV/AIDS is an alarming illness worldwide. It is known to have a significant association to suicide, despite a lack of in depth study. Early studies suggested suicide risk 20 to 36 times higher than the general population, but more recent trends in America show a decline. This is not true in Africa, including the region of Eastern Province, South Africa. There is abundant political and health discussion, but little study. This article presents descriptive statistics and case histories. These beginning studies must be augmented by comprehensive study of not only the epidemiology, but also the psychological and social correlates. Regrettably, there are numerous obstacles to such study in South Africa.
Adult↗
The impact of suicide prevention centers on the suicide rate in the Canadian provinces.
A study by Leenaars and Lester (1995) found that suicide prevention centers in the provinces of Canada in 1985 had a preventive, but nonsignificant, impact on the suicide rates of the provinces. The present study replicated that study for 1994-1998 and found a similar preventive impact, although weak, of suicide prevention centers on the provincial suicide rates.
Canada↗
Altruistic suicide: a few reflections.
In the last few centuries, science has become arithmetic, tabular, taxonomic, to explain living creatures, chemical elements and even diseases of the mind. Emile Durkheim attempted to do the same with his enduring volume, Suicide: A Study of Sociology, first published in 1897. Durkheim showed that suicide could be divided into an order: egoistic, altruistic, anomic and fatalistic-here, we focus on the question, who is the altruistic suicide? Durkheim's additional question is raised: When is a motive praiseworthy and when not-when to be called altruistic or heroic, and when terrorist? Further study is warranted-and thus, this opening editorial to an array of studies on the topic, from antiquity to the Christian martyrs into this century, to the act of Sati in India, to the suicide bomber in the Moslem world.
Journal Article↗
Altruistic suicides: are they the same or different from other suicides?
Suicidology is not alone in wrestling with the question, 'who are the altruistic suicides?' A review of a series of studies published in Archives of Suicide Research, suggests that maybe they are not different from other suicides. They are suicides; a case study of a "martyr" note reveals a suicide note. Emile Durkheim's sociological taxonomy suggests that the difference is probably on the outside, the social world. Yet, who decides what is honorable or not? Who are the suicide bombers? Martyrs? Terrorists? It appears that society(ies) defines the event, probably not the psychological aspects of the suicide(s). More research is, however, needed, but there are many obstacles to such study.
Journal Article↗
Suicide notes in India: what do they tell us?
Over 100,000 people commit suicide each year in India; yet, there has been limited micro-based study. This study marks the first study of suicide notes in India. The sample consisted of all available note-writers (n = 50), with a comparative sample of non-note writers (n = 50) of all suicides (n = 320, 16.47% of all postmortems) during a 1(1/2) year period in the New Delhi area, India. Using the demographic (descriptive) schema of Ho, Yip, Chiu, and Halliday (1998), the results show that note writers do not differ greatly from other suicides. Males wrote more notes, but the more intriguing finding is the fact that suicide in India is associated to an array of psychiatric/psychological and social factors.
Journal Article↗
Can a theory of suicide predict all "suicides" in the elderly?
Older adults consistently have the highest rates of suicide in most societies. Despite the paucity of studies until recently, research has shown that suicides in later life are best understood as a multidimensional event. An especially neglected area of research is the psychological/psychiatric study of personality factors in the event. This paper outlines one comprehensive model of suicide and then raises the question: Is such a psychiatric/psychological theory applicable to all suicides in the elderly? To address the question, I discuss the case of Sigmund Freud; raise the topic of suicide and/or dignified death in the terminally ill; and examine suicide notes of the both terminally ill and nonterminally ill elderly. I conclude that, indeed, greater study and theory building are needed into the "suicides" of the elderly, including those who are terminally ill.
Aged↗
Suicide notes from Australia and the United States.
The rates and patterns of suicide in the United States and Australia re similar. There are, however, few empirical studies comparing these two countries; indeed, there is a paucity of cross-cultural study in suicidology in general. Suicide notes from both countries were compared, based on Leenaars' multidimensional model of suicide. No major differences were noted as is in keeping with similar studies of suicide notes around the world. It was concluded that the model may be applicable to suicides in both countries; further study is warranted.
Australia↗
Discovering the truth in attempted suicide.
The findings of an international workshop on improving clinical interactions between mental health workers and suicidal patients are reported. Expert clinician-researchers identified common contemporary problems in interviews of suicide attempters. Various videotaped interviews of suicide attempters were critically discussed in relation to expert experience and the existing literature in this area. The working group agreed that current mental health practice often does not take into account the subjective experience of patients attempting suicide, and that contemporary clinical assessments of suicidal behavior are more clinician-centered than patient-centered. The group concluded that clinicians should strive for a shared understanding of the patient's suicidality; and that interviewers should be more aware of the suicidal patient's inner experience of mental pain and loss of self-respect. Collaborative and narrative approaches to the suicidal patient are more promising, enhancing the clinician's ability to empathize and help the patient begin to reestablish a sense of mastery, thereby strengthening the clinical alliance.
Adult↗
The impact of gun control (Bill C-51) on suicide in Canada.
Suicide is a multiply determined behavior, calling for diverse prevention efforts. Gun control has been proposed as an important component of society's response, and an opportunity for studying the effects of legislative gun control laws on suicide rates was provided by Canada's Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1977 (Bill C-51). This article reviews previous studies of the impact of this act on the total population of Canada and subpopulations by age and gender and, in addition, presents the results of 2 new studies: a different method of analysis, an interrupted time-series analysis, and the results of a multiple regression analysis that controls for some social variables. It appears that Bill C-51 may have had an impact on suicide rates, even after controls for social variables.
Age Factors↗
Understanding the declining Canadian homicide rate: a test of Holinger's relative cohort size hypothesis.
Homicide rates in Canada have shown a decline since 1975, but there has been little empirical study of this trend. P. Holinger (1987) predicted and confirmed that the size of the cohort aged 15-24 in the United States population was associated with the rise and fall of the homicide rate in that country. This study was designed to test this hypothesis in Canada. The results show, even if one controls for other socio-economic variables, the most significant prediction of the decline was, indeed, the proportion of the youth population.
Adolescent↗
People who have committed a certain sin ought to be dead.
People who have committed a certain sin ought to be dead; I am a person who has committed that sin; therefore, I ought to be dead. Thus is the logic of a suicidal mind. Lester, Szaz, and others argue the 'sinner' should always be allowed to kill him/herself. Shneidman, Leenaars and others do not agree. Once one knows the suicidal mind, it is easy to conclude the suicidal mind is not rational. The first premise is false! Therefore, the question is not, "Is suicide rational?" but "What is suicide?." Once you know the suicidal mind, you will agree with Shneidman and Leenaars, not Lester. Is it a good death if the sinner kills him/herself because he/she committed a certain sin?
Humans↗