published_or_final_version / Journalism and Media Studies Centre / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Statistics and Actuarial Science / Master / Master of Philosophy

No description available.

Savižudybė – reiškinys, kurį tiria daug mokslų: sociologija, filosofija, medicina, psichologija, kriminologija, teologija ir kt. Savižudybė – sudėtinga, daugiareikšmė problema, kuri neturi kokios nors vienintelės priežasties ir paaiškinimo. Ją dažniausiai sukelia psichologinių, kultūrinių ir socialinių veiksnių visuma (Polukordienė, 2003). Savižudybės Lietuvoje yra didžiulė problema, kurios aktualumas akivaizdus. 2011 m. nusižudė 20 vaikų ir jaunuolių iki 19 metų amžiaus. Pasaulinės organizacijos duomenimis, bandymai nusižudyti iki 20 kartų dažnesni nei savižudybės. Raktiniai žodžiai: jaunimas, suicidas, prevencija, savižudybės. Tyrimo objektas - socialinių pedagogų požiūris savižudybių fenomeną prevencija. Rašant darbą buvo naudojama mokslinės literatūros analizė, atliktas kiekybinis tyrimas, pasirinkus anketų metodą. Šio tyrimo tikslas - nustatyti socialinių pedagogų požiūrio į jaunimo savižudybių priežastis ir prevencijos galimybes būsimajame darbe. Tyrimo uždaviniai- 1. Aptarti jaunimo suicidinio elgesio problemos aktualumą. 2. Nustatyti sunkumus, su kuriais susiduria studijų metu socialiniai pedagogai. 3. Nustatyti socialinių pedagogų informuotumą apie jaunimo savižudybių priežastis. 4. Nustatyti socialinių pedagogų pasirengimą teikti pagalbą suicidinio elgesio atveju. Išvados: 1. Lietuva pagal savižudybių skaičių vis dar užima pirmąją vietą pasaulyje. Kaip nurodo, T. Ramanauskienė, V. Matulionienė, V. Martinkienė (2002), žudosi vis... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Each age period of human life is different for its diversity and peculiarity. He/she faces new challenges while gaining diverse experience, establishing social relationships, communicating and cooperating. One of such age periods is adolescence. This is transition from childhood to adult life that starts with sexual maturation and ends with the formation of personality and readiness for independent life. The chronological range is typical for this period of age: early adolescence at the age 12-14, the middle one – at the age 15-18, and the late – at the age 19-21, until the individual ceases to grow physically (Vaičiulienė, 2004).No coincidencethat due tothe abundance of changes the adolescence is characterized as "storm and stress" period inthe literature. According to Erikson teenager experiences the confusion crisis of identity roles during which he/she tries to find out who he/she is, what his/her goals and aspiration are. Therefore, during this period it is a significant increase in suicidal thoughts as an incentive to solve the problems. 1. During the study it was found that the most important reasons for adolescent's suicidality is the age of the youngsters embracing loneliness, inability to establish relationships with other people and the attemptto solve all the problems simultaneously. 2. The data analysis showed that the respondents seek the help in the familyafter facing the problems, and only a small part of them refers to... [to full text]

This research projects deals with the question of whether the paintings of artists who have committed suicide is reflective of their mental states both in terms of content and form. It specifically attempts to answer whether the deterioration in mental state from a time of better mental health to the time of their suicide is expressed graphically in the paintings of those artists and whether this can be reliably observed. It was discovered that paintings in the absence of contact with or interpretation by the artists, provided enough information to enable non-expert judges to make reliable global content-related judgements (e.g. destructiveness and hopelessness) as well as form-specific ratings (e.g. lack of detail) that distinguished between paintings created near the time of artists’ suicides and their paintings created at a time of better mental health as well as paintings from artists who were suffering from depression. It was also found that non-expert judges were able to correctly identify paintings that were created just before artists’ suicides as reflecting serious mental health problems. Furthermore, it was discovered that there was a general preference for paintings from depressed artists over the last paintings by artists who have taken their own lives. The implications of these findings for clinical work both in terms of assessment and treatment were discussed. Furthermore, several limitations of this research project were noted and suggestions for future research were provided.

Rationale and Aims: Grief research has highlighted the difficult reactions experienced by people bereaved by suicide, with studies also looking at the importance of sense and meaning making. There is limited research looking at experiences of individual kinships, for example partners of people who have taken their own lives. The current study therefore aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences of people who have lost a partner to suicide, using a qualitative approach. The research sought to explore the following:What are the experiences of people whose partners have taken their own lives and how do people experience trying to make sense and meaning of their partner’s death? Method: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with seven participants (two men) who had lost their partner to suicide more than two years previously. Verbatim transcripts of the interviews were then analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Results: The analysis produced four master themes, including: “Pervasive impact of loss – “oh god, its such a disaster”; “The search for understanding – “There are so many questions that are unanswerable, like ‘why’?”; Challenges and ways of coping – “All the challenges they just come daily, hourly, minute by minute”; and, “Looking to the future – Its been a turning point for me, and a catalyst for change”. A description of these master themes and the related subordinate themes is presented. Conclusion: The results of the analysis are considered in light of existing theory and their clinical implications.

No description available.

Objectives. This thesis aimed to examine a series of personality and cognitive factors as prospective predictors of suicidal thinking and psychological distress. A secondary objective was to examine any causal relationship between rumination and attentional biases. Method. In order to achieve the above objectives, a series of four studies were conducted. Studies one and three were prospective studies, using analogue samples, to examine the role of personality and cognitive factors in distress and suicidal thinking. In addition, study one also investigated the effect on attentional bias of manipulating rumination. Study two was an experimental study in which two different methods of manipulating attentional bias were piloted. The final study in this thesis employed a clinical sample of general hospital parasuicide patients to investigate whether relationships between personality and cognitive factors were replicable in a clinical population. Results. The personality and cognitive factors understudy were investigated within a research framework to examine their interactive effects. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed a number of moderating and mediating relationships between these personality and cognitive factors to prospectively predict both suicidal thinking and psychological distress. In addition, rumination was found to have a causal influence on positive attentional bias. Conclusions. Evidence from this thesis links personality and cognitive factors to both suicidal thinking and psychological distress in a series of moderating and mediating relationships. These are discussed in relation to the possible theoretical and clinical implications.

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

Emergency medical services (EMS) personnel experience direct traumatic exposure that can leave a lasting negative impact. However, little is known about the vicarious exposure that EMS personnel experience at challenging calls when family and loved ones are present at the scene. Additionally, there is minimal research that has looked at the experiences among paramedics and EMTs who arrive to mental disturbance calls or completed suicides. In order to add to the substantial body of literature on EMS personnel and traumatic exposure, this study explored their experiences of multifaceted traumatization; the lived experiences of paramedics and EMTs who have responded to completed suicides where loved ones of the deceased were present, and as a result, experienced both a negative psychological impact and posttraumatic growth. The study explored the risk factors and protective factors that paramedics and EMTs experience in their work. Additionally, this inquiry sought to explore the ways in which participants find meaning in providing emergency medical services and how they sustain their work. <br>This qualitative, phenomenological study was conducted through semi-structured individual interviews with 12 paramedics or EMTs who have been employed or volunteered for at least one year. Explication of data was completed using van Manen's (1990) four existential themes: spatiality, corporeality, temporality, and relationality. The results of this study identified themes that address van Manen's (1990) lived existentials, protective factors against posttraumatic symptoms through direct and vicarious traumatization, risk factors that contribute to these symptoms, and meaning making in their work. The implications of the study for the field of emergency medical services and suggestions for future research are provided. / School of Education; / Counselor Education and Supervision (ExCES) / PhD; / Dissertation;