Chapter 7 Part 4 Adult and Child Psychopathology

suicide

The risk of this is a significant factor in all types of depression. 

Suicide

Paradoxically, the act often occurs at a

point when the person appears to be emerging from the deepest phase of the depressive episode. 

Suicide

This now ranks among the 10 leading causes of death

in most Western countries 

T

T/F Until recently, suicide attempts were most common in people

between 25 and 44 years old, but it is now

people between 18 and 24 years old

T

T/F In the United States, women are about three times as likely to attempt suicide as men

borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder 

 Rates of attempted and completed suicides are also elevated in individuals with what kinds of disorders?

conduct disorder

a history of this has been found to

be a strong predictor of suicide attempts as well

major depression

This was found to be the strongest risk factor for suicidal ideation

fourth

suicide is also rare in absolute terms but is nevertheless the ____ leading cause of death in the United States for this age group (children/adolescence)

second

Suicide rates in college students are also high, and it is the _____ leading cause of death

T

T/F Studies have found that mood disorders, conduct disorder, and

substance abuse (especially alcohol) are relatively more common

in both completers and nonfatal attempters. 

impulsivity, aggression, pessimism, and negative affectivity

personality traits associated

with suicide are what?

suicide

This is often associated with negative events, such as severe

financial reversals, imprisonment, and interpersonal crises of

various sorts. 

meaning in life or to hopelessness about the future,

Some believe the common denominator may be

that these events lead either to the loss of a sense of what?

hopelessness about the future

This may be a

better long-term predictor of suicide

H

Other symptoms that seem to predict suicide more

reliably in the short term in patients with

A. major depression

B. severe anxiety

C. panic attacks

D. severe anhedonia (inability to experience pleasure),

E. global insomnia

F. delusions

G. alcohol abuse

H. All of the above

T

T/F Suicidal students are superior students, and although they tend to expect a great deal of themselves in terms of academic achievement, their grades, and academic competition are not regarded as significant precipitating stressors

failure to establish, or the loss of, a close interpersonal relationship.

For most suicidal students, both male and female, the major

precipitating stressor appears to be what?

serotonin functioning

 Specifically, suicide victims often have alterations in what neurotransmitter functioning?

serotonergic

Reduced _____ activity being associated with increased suicide risk—especially for violent suicide

Japan

____ is one of the few societies in which suicide has been

socially approved under certain circumstances

sense of involvement and identity with other people

Durkheim concluded that the greatest deterrent to committing suicide in times of personal stress is a what?

Ambivalence

This often accompanies thoughts of suicide

F

T/F Research has clearly proved the tragic belief that those who

threaten to take their lives seldom do so.

T

T/F Preventing suicide is extremely difficult.

treatment of the person’s current mental disorder(s), crisis intervention, and working with high-risk groups

three main thrusts of preventive efforts:

 Lithium

This seems to be an especially powerful anti-suicide agent over the long term 

Benzodiazepines

This can also be useful in treating the

severe anxiety and panic that so often precede suicide attempts.

crisis intervention

The primary objective of this is to help a person

cope with an immediate life crisis. 

crisis intervention

The emphasis of this is placed on: (1) maintaining supportive and often highly

directive contact with the person over a short period of time—

usually one to six contacts; (2) helping the person to realize that

acute distress is impairing his or her ability to assess the situation

accurately and to see that there are better ways of dealing with

the problem; and (3) helping the person to see that the present

distress and emotional turmoil will not be endless.

broad-based prevention programs

Many investigators have emphasized the need for what that is aimed at alleviating the life problems of

people who are in groups at high risk for suicide

Oregon Death with Dignity Act (ODDA)

In 1994 the state of Oregon passed the what

This allows physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients who request a prescription for lethal medications that they will ingest to end their own lives

Suicide intervention

Rather than focusing on suicide “prevention,” some have sug-

gested what both as a more appropriate term

and as descriptive of a more ethically defensible professional

approach to suicidal behavior.