This study investigated the seasonal, monthly and weekly variation of fatal suicidal behaviour in Pietermaritzburg, as well as the relationship between fatal suicidal behaviour and climate. Secondary analysis was performed on suicide data collected for two unpublished honours theses. Results indicate that there is significant monthly variation in the distribution of fatal suicidal behaviour in Pietermaritzburg, with the expected spring-summer peak and winter trough . This pattern was more pronounced for adults than for the youth or the elderly. There was no significant variation in the weekly distribution of suicide, and suicides did not reach a peak on Monday as has been evidenced in previous research. Instead, the distribution showed a peak on Sunday with a steady decrease towards the end of the week. An increase in humidity, ambient temperature and minimum temperature was associated with an increase in suicide rates . Overall this relationship was stronger for violent, than non-violent suicide. However, a significant negative relationship was found between hours of sunshine and suicide, but this was only significant for non-violent suicide. This study was largely descriptive, and further research is indicated in order to develop a theoretical framework for understanding the temporal distribution of suicide . / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

abstract: Despite the evidence that suicide risk assessment training is necessary only 40-50% of psychology programs offer risk assessment training (Granello & Juhnke, 2010). In the present study an online suicide risk assessment and safety plan training workshop for graduate students in the field of psychology was investigated. Participants were randomly assigned to the control condition (lecture) or the treatment condition (lecture + demonstration). Measures of declarative knowledge of suicide risk and protective factors, application to clinical scenarios, and risk assessment and management self-efficacy scales were administered before and after completion of the workshop. Two way repeated measures ANOVA's were conducted with repeated time measures to evaluate the Time X Condition interaction. While there was a significant main effect of time on all three dependent variables, there was no significant time X condition interaction. In contrast to predictions, the added component of a demonstration did not result in greater improvements in application to clinical scenario multiple choice questions or risk assessment and management self-efficacy. Post hoc moderation analysis revealed demonstration enhanced the effects of knowledge acquisition and assessment of clinical scenarios for individuals who reported the training was less relevant to their current work. Implications of findings and directions of further research are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Counseling Psychology 2016

This paper aims to provide insight into the risk factors contributing to suicidal ideation and behavior among adolescents. First, the author overviews the extant academic literature on the subject. She highlights the persistently high incidence of suicide among young people in the Czech Republic and briefly defines the stages of adolescence as well as the particular forms and methods of suicidal behavior. Subsequently, the author discusses in detail individual aspects of demographics, clinical data, familial environments and interpersonal relationships that the academic literature associates with an increased risk of suicidality among adolescents. Concluding the overview, the author sets the topic of suicide into the context of a children's crisis helpline. The author goes on to present an empirical analysis of reports documenting suicidal calls made to a children's crisis helpline. She uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to identify particular life circumstances that may contribute to the development of suicidal ideation and/or behavior, paying attention to distinct aspects of suicidality and to gender differences. As part of her analysis, the author critically evaluates the benefits and pitfalls associated with the use of data obtained from an anonymous crisis helpline.

It is common knowledge that LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) communities experience disparate rates of mental health concerns, including greater levels of self-reported depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicidal behavior (Bränström, Hatzenbuehler, & Pachankis, 2016). As an example, gay and bisexual men are four times as likely and lesbian and bisexual women are 2 times as likely, to attempt suicide compared to heterosexual counterparts (King et al., 2008). Between 25-43% of transgender persons have a lifetime history of suicide attempts, compared to 5% of the general US population (Nock & Kessler, 2006). Such poor mental health outcomes may be due, in part, to a lack of acceptance by society in the form of discrimination and unequal rights, and to rejection by family, friends and the self, including internalized homophobia, concealment and shame (Skerrett, Kõlves, & De Leo, 2016). LGBTQ persons are also more likely to have experienced trauma, including physical and sexual abuse, as well as interpersonal violence by intimate partners, family and strangers (LangenderferMagruder, Whitfeld, Walls, Kattari, & Ramos, 2016). LGBTQ communities, therefore, constitute a vulnerable and marginalized population, who are already at risk for rejection and abuse with consequent deleterious effects on physical and mental health, including risk for suicide.

No description available.

Suicide risk is rapidly increasing in children and adolescents. It is vital that research explores the causes in child and adolescent suicide risk. Research has failed to identify if the marital relationship may be correlated with this increase in suicide ideation in children. This study set out to determine if a child's perception of their parents' marital conflict impacts the child's suicidal risk. Using the Family Foundations of Youth Development project this study analyzed 1,692 parent and child participants to test if the child's perceptions of the marital conflict impacted their suicide risk and if the parent's own report of their relationship instability would impact child suicide risk. Results indicated that the child's perceptions were statistically significant in predicting suicide risk in adolescents. However, the parent's report was not statistically significant. These findings suggest that the child's perceptions of the parent's marital conflict impacts their suicide risk and should be considered when working with suicidal adolescents. Implications for working with suicidal youth is that clinicians focus on working with and treating the whole family system.

Bakgrund: Suicid är ett stort folkhälsoproblem i Sverige. Det är oklart hur arbetsterapeuter arbetar suicidförebyggande inom psykiatrimottagningar. Det saknas forskning kring evidensbaserade arbetsterapeutiska metoder och interventioner som är suicidpreventiva.  Syfte: Syftet med studien var att belysa hur arbetsterapeuter arbetar suicidförebyggande med vuxna personer inom psykiatrimottagningar.   Metod: En kvalitativ intervjustudie med induktiv ansats där 11 intervjuer genomfördes och analyserades med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Avsiktligt urval användes och kompletterades med ett snöbollsurval. Resultat: Resultatet presenterades i tre kategorier: “arbetsterapeutiskt perspektiv och arbetssätt inom psykiatrin”, “förmågor och erfarenhet i mötet med suicidriskpatienter” samt “organisationens rutiner för suicidprevention”. Detta mynnade ut i två teman: indirekt och direkt suicidprevention. Arbetsterapeuter arbetar indirekt suicidpreventivt genom meningsfulla aktiviteter, vanor, rutiner och roller. Direkt suicidprevention innefattar ett professionsgemensamt perspektiv med suicidriskbedömningar samt kris- och handlingsplan. Slutsats: Arbetsterapeuter arbetar mestadels indirekt suicidförebyggande med skydds- och riskfaktorer, meningsfulla aktiviteter, vanor, rutiner och roller. Det är också viktigt med en god patientrelation samt att våga fråga om suicid. Implikationer: Studien har belyst arbetsterapeutens roll inom psykiatrimottagningar i Sverige samt professionens perspektiv på patienten. Vidare behövs mer forskning gällande arbetsterapins betydelse inom suicidprevention, såsom evidensbaserade arbetsterapeutiska interventioner. / Background: Suicide is a major public health problem in Sweden. It is unclear how occupational therapists work with suicide prevention in psychiatric clinics. There is a lack of research on evidence-based occupational therapy methods and interventions that are suicide preventative. Aim: The purpose of the study was to highlight how occupational therapists work to prevent suicide among adults in psychiatric clinics. Method: A qualitative interview study with an inductive approach with 11 interviews and analyzed with a qualitative content analysis. Purposive sampling was used and supplemented with snowball sampling. Results: The results were presented in three categories: "occupational therapy perspective and working methods in psychiatry", "capability and experience in dealing with suicidal patients" and "the organization's routines for suicide prevention". This resulted in two themes: indirect and direct suicide prevention. Occupational therapists work indirectly to prevent suicide through meaningful activities, habits, routines and roles. Direct suicide prevention includes a collective professional perspective with suicide risk assessments as well as crisis and action plans. Conclusions: Occupational therapists mostly worked indirectly on suicide prevention with protective and risk factors, meaningful activities, habits, routines and roles. It is also important to have a good patient relationship and to dare to ask about suicide. Implications: The study has highlighted the occupational therapist's role within psychiatric clinics in Sweden as well as the profession's perspective on the patient. Furthermore, more research is needed regarding the importance of occupational therapy in suicide prevention, such as evidence-based occupational therapy interventions.

Suicide, a public health problem on a global scale, has become the focus in many domains across the United States. With the recent push to provide solutions to the adolescent suicide rate in the U.S., the school setting has become an important venue for prevention and intervention efforts. While there are many risk and protective factors, the majority of suicide completions are concurrent with psychiatric disorders among adolescents; as such, this is an area that warrants further investigation. Additionally, school resources are often overwhelmed by the magnitude of need among the student population; therefore, effective interventions must be identified that can feasibly be implemented in the schools. Research has suggested that parent-adolescent relationships are key in the prevention of suicide, yet minimal research has been conducted towards promoting healthy parent-adolescent relationships for at-risk adolescents. Additionally, some research suggests that school and community interventions are only more effective than parental support when negative parent-adolescent relationships are present. This implies that fostering parental support should be a top priority in school-based suicide prevention efforts. This literature review identifies and summarizes pertinent scholarly research and resources for schools to better support parents of adolescents who struggle with suicidal thoughts and previous attempted suicides. As part of an intervention plan which increases home/school collaboration in adolescent suicide prevention, handouts were developed for parents (found in the appendix), which include information on warning signs of suicide, risk factors for suicide, and methods of responding to suicidality. After adapting these handouts to best meet their students' needs, school-based mental health professionals may consider including these handouts in their school's crisis plan and suicide prevention efforts.

Suicide represents a major problem for all members of society. Findings from studies have shown that suicide risk is among the highest in young adult populations. Although a variety of factors have been identified in trying to predict suicide risk in young adults, one variable that has received considerable attention has been social disconnectedness. For example, according to Joiner’s (2005) theory of suicide, being socially disconnected from others represents a critical factor that heightens a person’s risk for suicide. Consistent with this view, findings from numerous studies have shown a reliable association between loneliness and suicide risk (Hatcher & Stubbersfield, 2013). For example, Chang and his colleagues (Chang et al., 2015; Chang, Muyan, & Hirsch, 2015; Muyan & Chang, 2015) have found a reliable association between loneliness and greater suicide risk (e.g., hopelessness, suicidal behaviors) in diverse cultural groups. Indeed, in one study, Chang, Hirsch, Sanna, Jeglic, and Fabian (2011) found that loneliness was an important predictor of suicide risk in Latina college students. Although these findings are important and point to the potential value of loneliness as a predictor of suicide risk in diverse adult groups, they do not take into account more culture- specific variables. Accordingly, we conducted the present study to examine the extent to which culture- specific (emic) variables might play an important role in predicting suicide risk, and to also determine if the inclusion of a general (etic) explanatory variable would add to the prediction of suicide risk, namely, hopelessness and suicidal behaviors, in a sample of 155 Latino college students. We conducted a pair of regression analyses including demographic variables (viz., age & sex) in the First Step, ethnic identity variables (ethnic affirmation, ethnic identity achievement, ethnic behaviors, & other group orientation; Phinney, 1992) in the Second Step, and loneliness (Russell, Peplau, & Curtrona, 1980) in the final Third Step, in predicting hopelessness and suicidal behaviors. Results of these analyses for both outcomes indicated that demographic variables did not account for significant variance in suicide risk. However, ethnic identity variables, as a set, were found to account for a significant 11% of the variance in hopelessness, and a significant 10% of the variance in suicide behaviors. Noteworthy, the inclusion of loneliness was found to account for an additional 19% of unique variance in hopelessness, and an additional 13% of unique variance in suicidal behaviors. Taken together, our findings underscore the importance of considering both emic and etic factors in trying to identify variables that may place Latinos at heightened risk for suicide. Additionally, our findings also point to the potential value of targeting specific ethnic identity variables (e.g., ethnic identity achievement) as well as loneliness when working with Latinos at risk for suicide.

Abstract not available