A Study of the Characteristics of Suicide Notes in China

Crisis ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Li ◽  
Xuesong Lu ◽  
Paul S. F. Yip

Abstract. Background: Suicide notes in China are rarely studied and seldom available. Aims: This study examines the characteristics of suicide note leavers and analyzes the contents of their suicide notes for the period of 2004–2016 in Pudong, Shanghai, which has more than 5.5 million inhabitants. Method: The characteristics of the note leavers ( n = 458) and those who left no notes ( n = 1949) were compared. Four major groupings of the suicide note content were identified, namely, addressees, mandates/requests, expressions, and difficulties. Results: Only 19.0% of the deceased left suicide notes and they were characterized by having no diagnosed psychiatric illnesses, being in debt, having a high education level, having made no previous suicide attempts, and having used suicide methods that required preparation. Wanting to hide their suicide information was not uncommon for these individuals (9.7%). Adolescents were likely to mention a negative interpersonal relationship with someone (27.4%). Illnesses/pain was frequently mentioned by adults (33.4%) and older people (61.5%). Limitations: Many features of suicide notes, e.g., interpersonal features of suicides, were not examined. Conclusion: Education level might be a key factor influencing the likelihood of leaving suicide notes. Most people who left suicide notes showed a negative attitude toward suicidal behavior. The myth of an afterlife should also be addressed.

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-22
Author(s):  
Dmitri Shustov ◽  
Olga Tuchina ◽  
Tatiana Agibalova ◽  
Nadezhda Zuykova

The article presents findings of the egogram-based suicide note analysis, which was undertaken by three experts (MDs, PhDs, certified in TA) in a sample of 26 people (36 suicide notes) in Ryazan, Russia, in 2000 and 2017. The results of the study imply that the presuicidal intrapersonal activity is quite diverse and evolving, and may vary between those who complete suicide lethally and those who survive their suicide attempt. Lethal suicides were characterised by elevated levels of Adult and Adapted Child whereas non-lethal suicide attempts showed an apparent increase in Adapted Child and negative Controlling Parent levels. The authors inferred that suicidal individuals with serious lethal intent might maintain moderate levels of Adapted Child (suffering) so as to enable Adult to accumulate energy needed to perform a fatal suicide attempt. In attempted suicides, high levels of negative Controlling Parent targeting relevant others may diffuse the energy necessary for completion of suicide. Attempted suicide egograms were illustrative of the manipulative nature of the non-lethal suicide attempts, whereas completed suicides did not. Egograms of non-lethal suicide attempts and intoxicated completed suicides had similar distribution of ego state levels, which may reflect the effect of alcohol interfering with the activity of protective Parental substructures and strengthening the role of the negative Controlling Parent targeting either one’s inner self or relevant others.Citation - APA format:Shustov, D., Tuchina, O., Agibalova, T., & Zuykova, N. (2018). States of Self as Agents of Self-Killing: An Egogram-based Suicide Note Analysis Study in Russia. International Journal of Transactional Analysis Research & Practice, 9(1), 5-22. https://doi.org/10.29044/v9i1p5


Crisis ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudath Samaraweera ◽  
Athula Sumathipala ◽  
Sisira Siribaddana ◽  
S. Sivayogan ◽  
Dinesh Bhugra

Background: Suicidal ideation can often lead to suicide attempts and completed suicide. Studies have shown that Sri Lanka has one of the highest rates of suicide in the world but so far no studies have looked at prevalence of suicidal ideation in a general population in Sri Lanka. Aims: We wanted to determine the prevalence of suicidal ideation by randomly selecting six Divisional Secretariats (Dss) out of 17 in one district. This district is known to have higher than national average rates of suicide. Methods: 808 participants were interviewed using Sinhala versions of GHQ-30 and Beck’s Scale for Suicidal Ideation. Of these, 387 (48%) were males, and 421 (52%) were female. Results: On Beck’s Scale for Suicidal Ideation, 29 individuals (4%) had active suicidal ideation and 23 (3%) had passive suicidal ideation. The active suicidal ideators were young, physically ill and had higher levels of helplessness and hopelessness. Conclusions: The prevalence of suicidal ideation in Sri Lanka is lower than reported from the West and yet suicide rates are higher. Further work must explore cultural and religious factors.


Genus ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Ginebri ◽  
Carlo Lallo

AbstractWe developed an innovative method to break down official population forecasts by educational level. The mortality rates of the high education group and low education group were projected using an iterative procedure, whose starting point was the life tables by education level for Italy, based on the year 2012. We provide a set of different scenarios on the convergence/divergence of the mortality differential between the high and low education groups. In each scenario, the demographic size and the life expectancy of the two sub-groups were projected annually over the period 2018–2065. We compared the life expectancy paths in the whole population and in the sub-groups. We found that in all of our projections, population life expectancy converges to the life expectancy of the high education group. We call this feature of our outcomes the “composition effect”, and we show how highly persistent it is, even in scenarios where the mortality differential between social groups is assumed to decrease over time. In a midway scenario, where the mortality differential is assumed to follow an intermediate path between complete disappearance in year 2065 and stability at the 2012 level, and in all the scenarios with a milder convergence hypothesis, our “composition effect” prevails over the effect of convergence for men and women. For instance, assuming stability in the mortality differential, we estimated a life expectancy increase at age 65 of 2.9 and 2.6 years for men, and 3.2 and 3.1 for women, in the low and high education groups, respectively, over the whole projection period. Over the same period, Italian official projections estimate an increase of 3.7 years in life expectancy at age 65 for the whole population. Our results have relevant implications for retirement and ageing policies, in particular for those European countries that have linked statutory retirement age to variations in population life expectancies. In all the scenarios where the composition effect is not offset by a strong convergence of mortality differentials, we show that the statutory retirement age increases faster than the group-specific life expectancies, and this finding implies that the expected time spent in retirement will shrink for the whole population. This potential future outcome seems to be an unintended consequence of the indexation rule.


1988 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
O.M. Lesch ◽  
H. Walter ◽  
R. Mader ◽  
M. Musalek ◽  
K. Zeiler

SummaryRushing (1968) offers two hypotheses for the possible structural connection between suicidal and chronic alcoholic case groups : the “processual cause theory” is based on the idea that alcoholism leads through its problematic nature to suicide attempts. In the “common cause theory” alcoholism and suicidai acts are due to mutually shared factors, e.g., social isolation and enforced social integration.Data on suicide and suicide attempts were obtained as a separate aspect of a comprehensive follow-up investigation. All patients from one particular region in Austria, who had been admitted to hospital between 1976 and 1978 for treatment of chronic alcoholism took part in this study. Follow-up time was 4 to 7 years. 101 patients died during this period. 356 patients remained under close follow-up investigation. In addition to information about basic drinking habits, we attempted to identify predictive factors regarding the course of alcoholism and investigated familial circumstances, development and interactions.In contradiction with both theories forwarded by Rushing, we were able to isolate a special subgroup of chronic alcoholics attempting or committing suicide. This group is characterized by a depressive symptomatology (endogeneous-depressive syndrome, according to the Viennese Diagnostic Criteria), as well as by the presence of other psychiatrie disturbances underlying chronic alcohol abuse. Family histories also uncovered evidence of psychiatric illnesses. Cases of negative alteration in social status and problematical partnerships could be found in this subgroup. Drinking habits themselves did not differ from non suicide-prone alcoholics.


2018 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-99
Author(s):  
Jatin Bodwal ◽  
Asit Kumar Sikary ◽  
Mohit Chauhan ◽  
Chittaranjan Behera

This case is of a suicide victim who purchased various drugs online using forged prescriptions after detailed research about the drugs to commit suicide. He left a suicide note giving details of his suicide methods and the reasons for it. He also denied any treatment and asked for euthanasia if he survived and remained in a vegetative state.


Prosodi ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-86
Author(s):  
Rizkya Fajarani Bahar ◽  
Lisetyo Ariyanti

Some people commited suicide tried to express what they felt and left message explaining the causes of why they committed suicide. The suicide note was written by the person who commited suicide as a purpose to give a sign to other people. One of those people was Ida Craddck who was a 19th century American. She advocated freedom of speech and women rights who committed suicide because of inappropriate decision from the judge. Her books were prosecuted by Anthony Comstock as obscene literature. This study was aimed to examine the hedges expressions that maintained the functions of confessional texts which were used by Craddock. The results found that hedges were used on her confessions to support her criticism and wish to the public. Those criticism and wish were confessed by Craddock to aware the public about people’s freedom condition. Her confessions had function to tell her personal story that led her to suicide which could be learnt by other people so that they could have a better life. Finally, hedges were used to express her uncertainty of the truth of what she confessed about her cause of death.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 115-135
Author(s):  
John Cappucci

This article examines religiosity among a sample of Jews living in Windsor-Essex County. This study uses three indicators to measure religiosity, including belief in G-d, prayer routine, and the Sabbath. The researcher interviewed fifty members of this community with an age rage between their early twenties to late eighties. The results show that the community has a somewhat moderate belief in G-d but does not pray or honour the Sabbath at comparable levels. To account for this diminished religiosity, Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart’s existential security theory will be applied. The article concludes that given the high degree of existential security derived from the sample’s high education level, there is little personal need to adhere to the major tenets of Judaism.   Cet article examine la religiosité parmi un échantillon de Juifs vivant dans le comté de Windsor-Essex. Cette étude se base sur trois indicateurs pour mesurer la religiosité, notamment la croyance en Dieu, la routine de prière et le sabbat. Le chercheur a interrogé cinquante membres de cette communauté dont l’âge varie entre 20 et 80 ans. Les résultats démontrent que la communauté a une croyance assez modérée en Dieu, mais ne prie pas ou n’honore pas le sabbat à des niveaux comparables. Pour rendre compte de cette religiosité diminuée, la théorie de la sécurité existentielle de Pippa Norris et Ronald Inglehart sera appliquée. L’article conclut qu’étant donné le haut degré de sécurité existentielle découlant du haut niveau d’éducation de l’échantillon, il n’est guère nécessaire, sur le plan personnel, d’adhérer aux grands principes du judaïsme.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asma H Almaghrebi

Background: Studies show that the COVID-19 pandemic has promoted distress and stress-related symptoms in the general population. It has also increased the suicide rate in vulnerable groups who cannot handle the social and psychological consequences of the pandemic and the measures in place to halt it. Objective: In this study, we compared the lethality of suicide attempts and the methods chosen between the three months before the COVID-19 pandemic and three months during curfew and lockdown in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This is a retrospective, causal-comparative study conducted at King Saud Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A total of 62 suicide attempt cases between January 2020 and June 2020 were included in this study. The scale for assessment of the lethality of suicide attempts (SALSA) was used for comparison, and cross-tabulation was used for the data of suicide methods. Results: There was a significant difference (P = 0.003) in the total SALSA score before and during the COVID-19 lockdown. The scores of lethality of suicide attempts were high during the lockdown. No significant difference was found in the suicide methods selected between the two time periods. However, the use of psychotropic medication overdose and self-immolation were prominent during the lockdown period. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic is likely associated with increased lethality of suicide attempts as well as an increased suicide rate. The development of appropriate mental health services is required.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 171-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Qais Blebil ◽  
Juman Abdulelah Dujaili ◽  
Enie Teoh ◽  
Pik Sze Wong ◽  
Bhuvan KC

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is becoming a global epidemic, which is still undertreated despite increased treatment availability and increase in therapeutic options. This study aimed to explore the awareness, knowledge, attitude and practices regarding Vitamin D among the general public in Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in a public area using a convenience samplingtechnique to recruit participants around Selangor and Kuala Lumpur shopping malls area. An anonymous self-administeredquestionnaire was used for data collection and it was circulated to 603 Malaysian. A total of 400 participants were completed and returned to the researchers.   Result: Although 90.5% of the participants have heard/learnt about Vitamin D. About 78.0% of them showed limited knowledge about some aspects of Vitamin D with (mean ± SD = 1.78 ± 0.894). Additionally, there was a negative attitude towards Vitamin D and sunlight exposure. For instance, nearly 70.0% of the respondents did not like to expose themselves to sunlight.  Only 30.0% of the participants had taken Vitamin D supplement before.There is a small, positive correlation between the knowledge score and education level, rho = 0.124, n = 400, P = 0.013, with a higher score associated with higher education level. Conclusion: The findings provided a piece of contemporary real-world evidenceon the lack of knowledge and practices about Vitamin D among the general public. Therefore, extensive health educational campaigns for the public should be implemented by the government to raise their knowledge on the importance of Vitamin D.


2019 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-94
Author(s):  
Chittaranjan Behera ◽  
Ravi Rautji ◽  
Ramesh Pratap Anuragi ◽  
Ram Niwas Yadav

Suicide notes are generally written on readily available materials, such as paper, notebook, wall or mirror by means of pen, pencil, marker or chalk. They can also be communicated by telephone, text messages, internet and digital media. A case has been reported where a note was written with henna. Suicide notes written on one’s body are uncommon, and notes engraved on the body with a sharp metallic object are extremely rare. We present two cases where a sharp pointed metallic object was used to write suicide notes on the body.


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