Any form of self harm can be triggering and hard for most people to be confronted with. Sexually risky behaviour and sex as self-injury among young people is no exception. This study aims to explore and analyse how social workers in the field of psychiatric care for young people in Sweden work with this group. For this study four interviews were conducted and analysed with systems theory.  To further deepen the studies result, a variation of literature has been included. The result of the study showed how dedicated social workers worked in interprofessional teams as well as with the youths families, in ordr to provide the youth with care suitable for their needs. The results from both the interviews as well as the literature reviewshow that although there is currently a need for more structured and evidence-based guidelines and work methods, it is a field where forward-looking research and great development are constantly present.

Approximately 2-11% of adolescents report chronic insomnia. The study used an archival data set from ADDHealth that assessed adolescent health and health-related behaviors. Adolescents (N = 4102) provided data at baseline (Time 1) and at 1-year follow-up (Time 2). Participants were excluded if no ethnicity, gender, or insomnia data were given at Time 1 or 2. Females were more likely to report insomnia than males at Times 1 and 2. In addition, adolescents with remitted insomnia were significantly younger than adolescents without insomnia at Times 1 and 2. Analyses found a prevalence of 9.6%, a remittance of 6.2%, an incidence of 4.4%, and a chronicity of 2.9%. At Time 1 and 2, AWI were significantly more likely to have depression, suicidal behaviors, and behavioral problems in school than AWOI. At Time 2, incidence and chronic insomnia increased the risk of depression, suicidal behaviors and behavioral problems in school. Risk and protective factors analyses indicated psychological counseling was associated with both remitted and chronic insomnia and depression was associated with incidence insomnia.

Introduction: Understanding the temporal dynamics of mental health conditions, such as suicidal ideation (SI), is critical for advancing research and clinical interventions. Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) is a method of increasing relevance for capturing such data over time, within participants daily lives. However, traditional analytical methods often fail to capture the episodic nature and complex temporal dependencies inherent in EMA mental health data. This project investigates the application of recurrent neural networks (RNNs) to EMA data to improve the prediction and understanding of SI, leveraging their ability to model sequential, high-dimensional data. Methods: Data for this study were drawn from a randomized controlled trial examining the effects of dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) and SSRI medication on SI in individuals with borderline personality disorder. Participants provided EMA responses multiple times per day over a period at baseline and again post-treatment. RNNs were trained on a portion of each participant’s baseline EMA data with EMA as the outcome, using various baseline and time-varying predictors. Predicted EMA SI values were then generated for a baseline EMA testing dataset, and for the post-treatment EMA period, These predicted SI values were examined to assess the accuracy of the RNN modeling. Baseline testing accuracy was compared to traditional mixed-effects models (MEMs) to demonstrate RNNs feasibility as an alternative for learning and predicting SI time series. Additionally, simulated EMA data was generated in order to describe the data conditions under which RNNs are most useful in modeling EMA data. Furthermore, post-treatment EMA SI predictions were explored to assess the long-term predictive capabilities of RNNs and investigate the prospects of using RNNs to draw causal or mechanistic insights. Results: Key findings underscore the potential of RNNs in mental health research. At baseline, RNNs consistently outperformed MEMs in predicting SI, demonstrating their ability to model complex temporal dependencies and account for within- and between-subject variance. The simulated data analysis highlighted conditions under which RNNs excel, including the use of time-varying predictors and the availability of sufficient longitudinal data, offering guidance for future RNN use. The post-treatment analysis revealed that RNNs continued to provide reasonably accurate predictions, showcasing their robustness even when data were temporally distant from the training period, and following treatment interventions. Furthermore, differences in prediction accuracy between the DBT and SSRI treatment groups suggested that these interventions may uniquely influence SI dynamics in ways that RNN predictions may help to illuminate. Variables associated with prediction error differences provided further insight into treatment-specific mechanisms, highlighting the potential for RNNs to uncover nuanced effects not readily captured by traditional methods. Conclusion: This dissertation advances the understanding of SI as a dynamic and context-dependent mental health outcome. By integrating EMA with RNN-based modeling, it addresses critical gaps in the analysis of temporal mental health data, offering novel insights into both the evolution of SI and the effects of therapeutic interventions. These findings underscore the potential of machine learning techniques to enhance EMA's utility, paving the way for future research and clinical applications aimed at improving mental health outcomes.

MPH / Department of Public Health / Over the past years, suicide and suicidal ideation are being increasingly recognised as important issues for public health policy, especially, among police officers. Suicidal ideation is one of the tragic issues among police officers, causing serious emotional, spiritual, medical, social and psychological distress for the individual, their families and friends, however, not much is known about it in the Vhembe District. The purpose of the study was to explore the factors contributing to suicidal ideation among police officers in Vhembe District. The study was conducted in the Thohoyandou cluster, which is situated in Limpopo Province, South Africa. A study had a qualitative phenomenological research design. The data saturation were reached at the number of 12 police officers, the target population were selected by means of convenience sampling and data was collected through a semi-structured interview. The data collected was analysed using the thematic analytical approach and conclusion were made based on the findings of the study. The study findings show the following as the factors contributing to suicidal ideation among the police officers - domestic violence, financial problems, divorce, extramarital affairs, lack of social support, health problems, contradicting the law and organisational factors that include organisational structure and working with guns. The study recommended that the South African Police Services should continue to provide support and counselling to police officers after they have attended to traumatic cases and that police officers need to be more open about their problems and avoid attempting to deal with them by themselves. / NRF

Det inträffar omkring 17 000 självmordsförsök i Sverige per år och hälften av dessa leder till psykiatrisk vård. Suicidriskbedömningar görs i psykiatrisk öppenvård av bland annat psykologer. Genom fem intervjuer undersökte vi ett i stort sett outforskat område: hur psykologer inom psykiatrisk öppenvård upplevde sitt arbete med suicidnära patienter. Vi använde tematisk analys för att analysera materialet vilket resulterade i två huvudteman: Att jobba på gränsen – med undertemana Mellan liv och död, Mellan arbete och fritid och Mellan att vara psykolog och människa – respektive Att balansera mellan acceptans och intervention – med undertemana Förr eller senare så händer det samt Resurser och coping. En återkommande dimension i temana var Emotionella reaktioner. Resultatet ger en bild av att psykologerna känner oro för patienterna och att denna oro kan användas som en del i suicidriskbedömningen. Vår tolkning är att psykologernas arbete kan spilla över på deras fritid och att detta i förlängningen kan tänkas ge konsekvenser så som medkänsleutmattning. Vi har tolkat psykologernas berättelser som att de använder copingstrategier för att återhämta sig från sin arbetsbelastning. I vårt resultat framträder en bild av att arbetet med suicidnära patienter kan vara vardag för psykologer inom psykiatrin. Vidare kan arbetet utgöra en känslomässig belastning för psykologer som är annorlunda jämfört med den belastning som uppstår i arbetet med icke-suicidnära patienter. / About 17,000 suicide attempts occur in Sweden each year, half of which lead to psychiatric care. Psychologists are one of the professional groups that conduct suicide risk assessments in psychiatric outpatient care. In this study we examine an relatively unexplored area: how psychologists in outpatient psychiatric care experience their work with suicidal patients. A thematic analysis of five interviews was conducted. The analysis resulted in two main themes: Working at the boundary – with sub themes Between life and death, Between work and leisure time and Between being a psychologist and a human – and Balancing between acceptance and intervention – with sub themes Sooner or later it will happen and Resources and coping. A recurring dimension in all themes was Emotional reactions. The findings provide a picture that the psychologists worry about the patients and that this worry can be used as a part of the suicide risk assessment. Our analysis shows that the psychologists’ work can spill over into their leisure time. This may eventually have effects, such as compassion fatigue. Our interpretation of the narratives suggests that the psychologists use coping-strategies to recover from their workload. The results also show that working with suicidal patients can be part of the daily work of psychologists in psychiatric care. Further more, our analysis shows that working with suicidal patients can include an emotional exhaustion on psychologists that is different from the exhaustion that might arise in the work with non-suicidal patients.

The study explored the experiences of nurses regarding in-patients who attempt or succeed in committing suicide in a general hospital. The purpose of the study was to design support guidelines for the nurses who care for patients who attempt or successfully commit suicide whilst admitted at general hospital. A generic qualitative research approach was followed, using an exploratory and descriptive design. Data was collected through in-depth interviews from a purposive sample of six nurses who met the inclusion criteria. Content data analysis was done. The research findings revealed five themes. The findings indicate that the working environment was not safe for both the nurses and the patients; confused patients were unpredictable and withheld their intentions of suicide from the nurses. Nurses blamed themselves for in-patient suicide; as some are still living with feelings of guilt. Nurse unit managers provided support to the affected nurses; however debriefing sessions were not given to the affected employees. There were no clear guidelines on management of confused patients. Support guidelines for the nurses are presented in this study / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

Thesis (M.Psyc.)--University of South Africa, 2001.

This dissertation has multiple goals. First to analyze self-destructive behavior and its relations to ethics. Secondly to evaluate four different ethical perspectives regarding self-destructiveness from a certain position of human nature. The third goal is to construct a position that deals with self-destructive behavior in a way that is improved and well-managed compared to the four ethical perspectives analyzed earlier. The first goal is met by comparing and evaluating different theories concerning self-destructive behavior and discussing the ethical implications surrounding them. Self-destructive behavior is seen as a way of communicating, which puts a moral pressure on both the self-destructive person and the society around her. The four ethical perspectives represented by Robert Nozick and Thomas Szasz, two neoliberals, James B Nelson, a body theologian inspired by Paul Tillich, Gail Weiss, a body feminist and Mary Timothy Prokes, a catholic body theologian, are hence met by the problem of self-destruct, analyzed and critically evaluated. In the final chapter the author constructs an improved ethical perspective concerned with self-destructiveness, based on altruism, responsibility and broad-mindedness.

Thesis (M.Psyc.)--University of South Africa, 2001.

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