A Holocaust Survivorship Model: Survivors' Reflections

AbstractFor three consecutive years the eggs, the immature stages and the emergent adults of Aedes cantans (Mg.) populations were sampled from a small woodland ditch in southern England with a view to constructing the life-table of the species. Estimates of the numbers of ‘viable’ eggs available for hatching and the size of the resultant adult population yielded an estimate of the probability of a ‘viable’ egg resulting in an adult. Estimating the mortality rates in different immature stages which occur simultaneously is known to be difficult. It was considered reasonable to rely on a generalised exponential survivorship model based on the assumption that the relative mortality rate during the duration of each instar of A. cantans is constant, but this rate may vary from instar to instar. The parameters of the model were estimated using experimental data on the duration and total incidences through regular sampling of different instars together with the estimate of the probability that a ‘viable’ egg would result in an adult. The survivorship picture thus obtained agreed closely with the survivorship pattern obtained using a graphical approach based on the construction of the stage-specific age distribution of the pre-adults, and then drawing a smooth curve through the age distribution to produce an approximation to the survivorship curve. Because mortality was similar in all three years, the three years' data were pooled to give estimates of the life-table parameters. These clearly showed that substantial population loss occurred in the first two larval instars of A. cantans.

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Profiling Suicide Exposure Risk Factors for Psychological Distress: An Empirical Test of the Proposed Continuum of Survivorship Model

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.692363 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Navjot Bhullar ◽

Rebecca L. Sanford ◽

Myfanwy Maple

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Psychological Distress ◽

Latent Profile Analysis ◽

Community Sample ◽

Exposure Risk ◽

Suicide Death ◽

Proposed Model ◽

Survivorship Model ◽

The Continuum

The Continuum of Survivorship proposes a way in which individuals may experience the suicide death of someone known to them along a continuum from being exposed to the death through to long-term bereavement. The present study provides a first empirical testing of the proposed model in an Australian community sample exposed to suicide. Using a Latent Profile Analysis, we tested the suicide exposure risk factors (time since death, frequency of pre-death contact, reported closeness, and perceived impact) to map to the Continuum of Survivorship model. Results revealed identification of five profiles, with four ranging from suicide exposed to suicide bereaved long-term broadly aligning with the proposed model, with one further profile being identified that represented a discordant profile of low closeness and high impact of suicide exposure. Our findings demonstrate that while the proposed model is useful to better understand the psychological distress related to exposure to suicide, it cannot be used as “shorthand” for identifying those who will be most distressed, nor those who may most likely need additional support following a suicide death. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

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