Suicide among African Americans has been acknowledged by the U.S. Surgeon General as a growing crisis. However, suicide remains understudied in this population. In this article, the authors examine the literature related to cultural protective factors that buffer African Americans from suicide risk. They present an overview of suicide among…

There has been no published study on personal letters written before an individual's suicidal death hitherto, although studies have been done using diaries. The purpose of this study was to search for trends in the use of particular linguistic categories in a series of personal letters written before an individual's suicidal death. A linguistic…

Practitioner-members of the National Association of School Psychologists (N = 162) completed questionnaires regarding their suicide prevention and postvention roles, training, preparedness, and knowledge. Most were crisis team members, yet less than one-half reported graduate training in suicide risk assessment and less than one-fourth in…

Suicide is a leading cause of American deaths. Given suicide's overall frequency and negative effects, specialized suicide training is warranted. This article describes a creative self-suicide assignment designed to enhance doctoral students' suicide assessment and intervention knowledge and clinical skills, and promote greater counselor empathy…

That two-thirds of depressed adults are resistant to medication has led to the addition of psychotherapy to treatment, but is medication necessary? Results are at least as good with psychotherapy alone, and the relapse rate is less. Handling of suicidal danger, sleep disorders, and common depressing issues in college students are discussed along…

Differences in suicidal behavior and adaptive characteristics were examined in college students with a particular emphasis on gender differences. Participants consisted of 344 undergraduate students who were administered a revised version of the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire (SBQ), the Expanded Reasons for Living Inventory (RFL), and a…

This study examined the impact of coping strategies employed by homeless youth upon suicidal ideation, suicide attempts on the streets, and feeling trapped/helpless. Coping strategies examined in the analysis included problem-focused and avoidant coping, along with several coping strategies identified in previous exploratory qualitative studies.…

In light of incidents like the Virginia Tech massacre, there is growing need for scholarship on emergency management in higher education. Traditional literature has typically focused on locating breakdowns, blame, and accountability by questioning whether emergency responses evidence departures from protocol. Yet, experience teaches that adhering…

Although depression is classified as an adult mental health disorder, middle to late adolescence is the age when symptoms most commonly surface. If teachers can recognize the signs of depression in students, Crundwell and Killu assert, they can provide a supportive, flexible school environment that enables depressed students to learn and thrive.…

This bibliography contains selected references to English language publications dealing with existing depression or depressive symptoms and suicide or attempted suicide in children to the age of 12. A brief review of the recognition of depression in children opens the document. The 337 citations are taken from the period January 1983 through April…

Compared 104 homicides followed by suicide in Los Angeles during 1970-1979 to West's findings for England and Wales, 1954-1961. Variables discussed are age, ethnicity, sex distribution of offenders and victims, relationship between them, methods, alcohol content, suicide notes, depression, and physical illness. (JAC)

Presents five articles by philosophers and a psychiatrist on the ethics of suicide, as well as comments and a literature review. Discusses the rationality and morality of suicide from several philosophical viewpoints including self-ownership, Kant's theories, and a libertarian perspective. (JAC)

In suicidal behavior emergency room admissions of adolescents at Brockton Hospital (Massachusetts), females predominated over males by almost two to one. Also, repeat episodes of self-inflicted injury were common among females. The type of the initial episode was a powerful predictor of a repeat occurrence. (Author/KH)

Investigated differential suicide patterns on the Golden Gate and Oakland Bay bridges in San Francisco, using official records from 1937 to 1979. Although the bridges are very similar, there are substantially more suicides on the Golden Gate Bridge, suggesting the influence of psychological/symbolic factors. (JAC)