07 Suicide & Domestic Violence
07 Suicide & Domestic Violence
07 Suicide & Domestic Violence
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SUICIDE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
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CONTENTS
What is Suicide?
Suicide Triggers
Underlying Causes of Suicide
Suicide and Age
Treatment and Suicide
References
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SUICIDE
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WHAT IS SUICIDE?
DEFINITION
Suicide is death caused by injuring oneself
with the intent to die.
Only humans knowingly take their own lives.
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death
in the world.
Parasuicides: unsuccessful attempts to kill
one’s self
STATISTICS
Estimated 1 million people die by suicide
each year
Every day, an average of more than 10
Canadians die by suicide. 5
SUICIDAL TYPES
1. Death seekers clearly intend to end their
lives at the time they attempt suicide.
2. Death initiators act out of a belief that the
process of death is already under way and
that they are simply hastening the process
(e.g. elderly and very).
3. Death ignorers believe they are trading their
present lives for a better or happier existence
(e.g. children, afterlife believers).
4. Death darers experience mixed feelings, or
ambivalence, about their intent to die, even at
the moment of their attempt, and they show 6
PATTERNS
Two major strategies used to study suicide:
1. Retrospective analysis
2. Suicide survivor studies.
Suicide rates vary from country to country.
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SUICIDE TRIGGERS
COMMON TRIGGERS
1. Stressful events:
a. Immediate (e.g. combat, natural disaster,
negative life change)
b. Long-term (e.g. social isolation, serious
illness, abusive environment, occupational
stress)
2. Mood and thought changes:
a. Sadness, anxiety, tension, frustration, anger,
or shame
b. Hopelessness
c. Dichotomous thinking (viewing problems
and solutions in rigid either/or terms). E.g.
“Suicide was the only thing I could do”
SUICIDE TRIGGERS
COMMON TRIGGERS
3. Alcohol and other drug use:
a. Lowers a person’s inhibitions
b. Reduces his or her fears of suicide
c. Releases underlying aggressive feelings,
d. Impairs judgment and problem-solving
ability
4. Mental disorders:
a. 70 % severe depression (unipolar or bipolar),
b. 20% chronic alcoholism
c. 10% schizophrenia.
SUICIDE TRIGGERS
COMMON TRIGGERS
5. Modelling:
a. One suicidal act apparently serves as a
model for another.
b. Suicides by family members and friends,
those by celebrities, and suicides by
coworkers or colleagues are particularly
common triggers.
c. Especially among teenagers.
UNDERLYING CAUSES OF SUICIDE
UNDERLYING CAUSES OF SUICIDE
Psychodynamic View
Suicide results from depression and
from anger at others that is redirected
toward oneself.
Suicide is thought to be an extreme
expression of self-hatred and self-
punishment
UNDERLYING CAUSES OF SUICIDE
Sociocultural View
Probability of suicide determined by
personal attachment to such social
groups as the family, religious
institutions, and community.
The more thoroughly a person
belongs, the lower the risk of suicide.
Conversely, people who have poor
relationships with their society are at
higher risk of killing themselves.
UNDERLYING CAUSES OF SUICIDE
Sociocultural View
Three types
Interpersonal View
People will be inclined to pursue
suicide if they hold two key
interpersonal beliefs
1. perceived burdensomeness and
thwarted belongingness
2. psychological capability to carry out
suicide
UNDERLYING CAUSES OF SUICIDE
Biological View
Low serotonin activity and brain-
circuit dysfunction among suicidal
people
Contributes to aggressive and
impulsive behaviors
SUICIDE AND AGE
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SUICIDE AND AGE
DISCUSSION
Which group has the highest rate of
suicide?
SUICIDE AND AGE
Likelihood of dying by suicide
steadily increases with age up
through middle age, then decreases
during the early stages of old age,
and then increases again beginning
at age 75.
Three groups—children,
adolescents, and the elderly—face
unique problems that may play key
roles in the suicidal acts of its 19
members.
SUICIDE AND AGE
CHILDREN
Commonly preceded by such behavioral patterns as:
CHILDREN
Link between child suicides and:
ADOLESCENTS
Far more teenagers attempt suicide than
actually kill themselves—most experts
believe that the ratio is at least 100:1.
While some do indeed wish to die,
many may simply want to make others
understand how desperate they are, or
they may want to get help or teach
others a lesson.
Up to half of teenagers who make a
suicide attempt try again in the future,
and as many as 14% eventually die by
suicide. 23
SUICIDE AND AGE
ADOLESCENTS
THEORIES OF WHY
1. High rates of competition leads to
shattered dreams and ambitions
2. Weakening family ties produce
feelings of alienation and rejection.
3. Peer pressure to engage in risky
behaviors.
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SUICIDE AND AGE
THE ELDERLY
Suicide among older adults is more
common than many people think.
According to Statistics Canada, the
rate of suicide for older adults was
12.4/100,000 (23.0/100,000 for men,
and 4.5/100,000 for women over the
age of 65).
Older males die by suicide more often
than any other group because they use
more lethal means when attempting
suicide.
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SUICIDE AND AGE
THE ELDERLY
Why are older adults at risk?
Experiences of loss such as loss of
health, loved ones, physical mobility
and independence
Major life changes such as retirement,
change in financial status, a transition
into care facilities
Fewer relationships and connections
as loved ones have passed away; also,
older adults are more likely to live
alone
Feeling of being a burden to loved
ones 26
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TREATMENT AND
SUICIDE
Two major categories:
1. Treatment after attempted suicide.
2. Suicide prevention.
Treatment may also be beneficial to relatives and
friends of those who complete or attempt suicide.
The goals of therapy for those who have attempted
suicide are to:
1. keep the individuals alive,
2. reduce their psychological pain,
3. help them achieve a non-suicidal state of mind,
4. provide them with hope,
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5. guide them to develop better ways of handling
stress
TREATMENT AND
SUICIDE
appointments.
TREATMENT AND
SUICIDE
SUICIDE PREVENTION
During their initial contact with a suicidal person,
counselors try to:
1. establish a positive relationship,
2. understand and clarify the problem,
3. assess the potential for suicide,
4. assess and mobilize the caller’s resources,
5. formulate a plan for overcoming the crisis.
Beyond such crisis intervention, most suicidal
people also need longer-term therapy.
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TREATMENT AND
SUICIDE
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SUICIDE POSTVENTION
Postvention is the provision of crisis
intervention, support and assistance for
those affected by death by suicide.
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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
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REFERENCES
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. (2021). Suicide in Children and Teens.
Washington, DC: AACAP Answer Center. Retrieved: https://
www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Teen-Suicide-010.as
px
Comer, R. & Comer, J. (2019). Fundamentals of Abnormal Psychology. New York, NY Worth
Publishers.
Government of Canada (n.d.). Older adults and suicide. Ottawa, ON: Health Canada. Retrieved:
https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/wp-content/uploads/drupal/2019-05/Older%20adults%20
and%20suicide%20fact%20sheet.pdf
Government of Canada (2021). Suicide in Canada. Ottawa, ON: Health Canada. Retrieved:
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/suicide-prevention/suicide-canada.html
Government of Canada (2020). Preventing suicide: Warning signs and how to help. Ottawa, ON:
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Health Canada. Retrieved: https://
www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/suicide-prevention/warning-signs.html