<p>Studien handlar om självskadebeteende. Syftet med undersökningen var att få reda på vilka yttre faktorer som påverkade tre unga tjejer att börja skada sig själva. Forskningen på området anser att personer börjar skada sig själva pågrund av sexuella övergrepp i ung ålder, men det framgår tydligt i resultatet att sexuella övergrepp i detta fall inte påverkade tjejerna i studien. Till grund för tjejernas destruktiva beteende ligger traumatiska händelser i deras uppväxt både i lågstadieålder samt högstadieålder.</p><p>Metoden som användes i studien var semistrukturerade intervjuer eftersom intervjuaren då kan rikta sin fulla uppmärksamhet mot respondenten.</p><p>Resultatet är utformat på ett narrativt sätt vilket gjorde att resultatet kunde presenteras i berättelseform. I resultatet framkom vilka yttre påverkansfaktorer som påverkade tjejerna att börja skada sig, som till exempel föräldrars skilsmässa, eller plötslig död i deras nära omgivning.</p>

Among indigenous populations, there is significant evidence that the rates of completed suicide are much higher than in the general population. The current study examines whether the prevalence and risk factors of suicidal ideation, plans and attempts differ when comparing an American Indian reservation sample to a US general population sample. Data were from the National Comorbidity Survey (n = 5,877) and the American Indian Service Utilization, Psychiatric Epidemiology, Risk and Protective Factors Project (N = 3,084). The current findings indicate that there are few differences in the likelihood of suicidal behavior in conjunction with particular disorders or traumas. However, American Indians appeared more likely to make a suicide attempt and less likely to have suicidal thoughts in their lifetime when compared with the general population. Although preliminary and exploratory, findings provide evidence that suicide interventions for indigenous populations may require modification based on differential risk factors for suicide. / October 2008

The literature on clinical interventions for suicide prevention indicates that low-income, suicidal African American females are an historically underserved population. Contributing to this lack of service are the intersecting influences of race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and related oppressions (APA, 2007). In suicidal African American females, a higher level of reported symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder has been found in suicide attempters as compared to nonattempters (Kaslow et al., 2000), and PTSD has been shown to be associated with heightened risk of an ensuing suicide attempt (Wilcox, Storr, & Breslau, 2009). One factor affecting manifestation of PTSD symptoms is attachment style. When a person with an insecure attachment style experiences a traumatic event(s), they are more likely to develop PTSD (Dieperink, Leskela, Thuras, & Engdahl, 2001). However, if effective coping methods are learned, more severe symptoms of PTSD are less likely (e.g., DeRoma et al., 2003; Johnsen, Eid, Laberg, & Thayer, 2002). Multiple studies examining the relationship between attachment style and coping find insecure attachment linked to poor coping skills (e.g., Schmidt, Nachtigall, Wuethrich-Martone, & Strauss, 2002; Yih-Lan, 2003). Those with insecure attachment styles are more likely to employ less effective coping methods leading to increased distress and interpersonal problems. However, there is research to support the possibility of insecure attachment style shifting to a more secure form, potentially through learning coping skills that offset maladaptive coping. This study examined the mediating role of coping on the relationship between attachment style and PTSD symptoms. One hundred and fifty African American women enrolled in a project designed to understand the experiences of low income, African American women completed a Demographic Data Questionnaire, The Relationship Style Questionnaire (RSQ) (Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994), The Ways of Coping, Revised (Folkman & Lazarus, 1985), and The Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS) (Foa, Cashman, Jaycox, & Perry, 1997). The relationships among factors were examined using Structural Equation Modeling. Results indicated a significant direct path between Insecure Attachment and PTSD Symptoms of moderately weak strength, between Insecure Attachment and Emotion-Focused Coping of moderate strength, and between Insecure Attachment and Problem-Focused Coping of moderately weak strength. However, neither Emotion-Focused nor Problem-Focused Coping mediated the relationship between Insecure Attachment and PTSD symptoms. Clinical implications, limitations of the study, and future directions are discussed in terms of these results.

During 2010, 1446 people committed suicide in Sweden. Research shows that groups that are less favored in society have an increased risk of suicide. Social services often encounter groups of people that have a high risk of suicide, for instance welfare recipients or substance abusers. The purpose of this study was to shed light on how social workers talk about suicide and how this might affect interactions with suicidal clients. The study is based on qualitative interviews with five social workers in Stockholm. The results were analyzed using the theory of professional discretion and the perspective of existentialism. The most important results were that social workers do not think that they can help suicidal clients on their own, instead they need psychiatric help. Meeting with suicidal clients raises a lot of feelings and one way to cope with this is by distancing oneself from the client. The study also showed that suicide is a complex issue and it can be hard to find a position between the human right of autonomy and the will to help people. Continuity was viewed as an important factor, but due to the work load it can be hard to follow up these clients.

In this paper the authors are focusing on people that work in psychiatric acute care. How do they identify the individual that is in most need of acute care? How do they judge in this kind of cases?    The foundation in this study is in the qualitative method. The material to this study has been collected by doing qualitative interviews with six people in different professions and positions in psychiatric acute care.    The material that we collected from these six qualitative interviews has been analysed with help from Sherif’s and Hovland’s (1961) Social judgement theory. The theory describes people’s judgement based on certain criterions and how it affects them.     It has been noticed that the individuals who asses first acute care are usually the ones that has a suicidal behavior. The resources are decreasing while the need for psychiatric acute care is increasing. The personell have to make decisions about which individual that are in most need of acute care. Their judgments are very important for the indiviuals in need of immediate care. This judgement can be depending on which individual who is doing the judgemet. This paper has given us comprehension for the immortance of good individual properties for doing judgements, and that they are made in several positions.

The purpose of the present study was to prepare a Stress Management Program for the mothers of children with autism and to evaluate the effects of the program on depression, anxiety, and suicidal probability. It was hypothesized that the mothers of children with autism who attended the Stress Management Program would have lower depression, anxiety and suicidal probability whereas there would be no change in the depression, anxiety, and suicidal probability of mothers of children withautism who did not get any treatment. The participants of the study were 44 mothers of children with autism from Uyum Special Education Center and Ilgi Special Education Center. The data were gathered by administering four instruments / Beck Depression Inventory, Back Anxiety Inventory, Suicidal Probability Scale, and Demographic Information Form. Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance Technique was used to analyze the data. The findings of the study indicated that there was a significant decrease in depression levels of mothers of children with autism after the Stress Management Program whereas anxiety and suicidal probability did not change significantly as a function of the Stress Management Program. For the mothers of children with autism who did not get any treatment, it was indicated that there were no difference in depression, anxiety and suicidal probability. The results were discussed within the context of the relevant literature.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the role of cessation of NSSI in acquired capability and distress tolerance. It was hypothesized that individuals with longer time in-between assessment and NSSI would show lower levels of acquired capability and higher levels distress tolerance regardless of lifetime frequency. These hypotheses were tested by surveying 375 undergraduate university students (64% female; mean age = 20.3) Participants completed packets with self-report measures that included: Inventory of Statements about Self- Injury, Acquired Capability of Suicide Scale, Distress Tolerance Scale, and Demographics. Results suggested that individuals with longer amount of time since last NSSI showed higher levels of acquired capability and distress tolerance when compared to individuals with less recent NSSI even when controlling for life time frequency.

Among indigenous populations, there is significant evidence that the rates of completed suicide are much higher than in the general population. The current study examines whether the prevalence and risk factors of suicidal ideation, plans and attempts differ when comparing an American Indian reservation sample to a US general population sample. Data were from the National Comorbidity Survey (n = 5,877) and the American Indian Service Utilization, Psychiatric Epidemiology, Risk and Protective Factors Project (N = 3,084). The current findings indicate that there are few differences in the likelihood of suicidal behavior in conjunction with particular disorders or traumas. However, American Indians appeared more likely to make a suicide attempt and less likely to have suicidal thoughts in their lifetime when compared with the general population. Although preliminary and exploratory, findings provide evidence that suicide interventions for indigenous populations may require modification based on differential risk factors for suicide.