Discusses the strengths and limitations of the current pragmatic focus of research in suicidology and presents an argument for theoretical grounding as a precursor for continued advancement in this area. Presents an existential-constructivist framework of "meaning creation" as a theoretical heuristic for understanding suicide. Outlines general…

Openness to Experience (a personality trait) is examined in relation to suicidal behavior. People scoring low on an inventory measuring Openness are less likely to report suicidal ideation. It is hypothesized that such people with major depression may be at increased risk for completed suicide, in part because they are less likely to report…

Presents empirical contributions to the scholarship on African American suicide, particularly among men. Discusses the secular trends in suicide completion and method-specific suicide patterns; the prevalence of ideation and attempts; suicide-related risk factors; evidence-based recommendations for suicide prevention; the need for more effective…

Discusses a pedagogy for teaching middle school students how to grieve when one of their classmates dies. Considers the steps of the grieving process, and dealing with different types of death: murder, suicide, accidents, and illness. (JPB)

College women (n=114) completed measures of suicidality, reasons for living, and incidence and impact of maltreatment. Women who reported sexual maltreatment in combination with other types of maltreatment were significantly more suicidal than those not maltreated or those who reported other types of maltreatment. (JPS)

A sample of 196 English-speaking Canadian adults residing in 6 major cities of Canada were administered the Suicide Opinion Questionnaire. Results are discussed along 10 major dimensions: stigma of suicide, normality, the right to die, acceptability, cry for help, mental illness, religion, antecedents, impulsivity, and incidence. (JPS)

This article reviews research on suicide among gifted adolescents. It notes that, though the literature suggests that the suicide rate of gifted adolescents is the same or lower than the general population of adolescents, there is not enough data to draw conclusions. Conclusions that can be supported by research are listed. (DB)

Hypothesizes that suicidal adolescents display a more negative attitude toward their bodies than nonsuicidal normal adolescents. Correlations showed that the higher the suicidal tendency, the stronger the negative feelings toward the body. The findings were explained as reflecting suicidal tendencies developing from early trauma and…

Reviews four domains of research in adolescent suicide: (1) the role of psychopathology; (2) family history of psychopathology; (3) mental health treatments; and (4) firearms in homes. Recommendations include: better training for professionals, better delivery of mental health treatments, policy changes of better mental health screening and…

This study tested the efficacy of a school-based prevention program for reducing suicide potential among high-risk youth. A sample of 105 youth at suicide risk participated in a 3-group, repeated-measures, intervention study. All groups showed decreases in suicide risk behaviors, depression, hopelessness, stress, and anger. Increased personal…

Describes a study in which 203 undergraduates completed questionnaires on attributional style, negative life events, hopelessness, and suicidal symptoms at 1 point in time and again 10 weeks later. As predicted, the combination of a negative attributional style for interpersonal events and the occurrence of such events were prospectively related…

Evaluated the effectiveness of a time-limited, outpatient intervention targeting suicidal young adults. In addition to intake assessments, participants completed follow-ups at 1, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Both treatment and control participants evidenced significant improvement across all outcome measures throughout the follow-up period.…

Evaluates risk factors in African American adolescent suicide attempters (n=51) and nonsuicidal (n=124) adolescents. Results show that threat of separation from a parental figure, insomnia, neglect, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, and failing grades were the strongest predictors of suicide attempt. Unexpected findings include high levels of…

Study shows that individuals making suicide attempts have elevated odds of hopelessness, neuroticism, introversion, low self-esteem, impulsiveness, and external locus of control. When allowances were made for intercorrelations between these measures, hopelessness, neuroticism, and external locus of control remained significant risk factors for…

Presents a process model for decision making in high-risk outpatient counseling situations. Proposes that counselors attend to two key dimensions of these situations: the strength of the therapeutic alliance and the degree of suicide risk. Four case studies are presented to illustrate the application of the model to suicidal situations.…