Investigated individual and interpersonal dynamics of 21 suicidal persons and their partners during suicidal person's psychiatric hospitalization following episode of suicidal behavior or serious suicidal ideation. Found dynamics of couples characterized by complementarity at level of overt individual functioning and similarity at level of covert…

Administered questionnaire containing Kelley chronic self-destructiveness scale and Beck Depression Inventory to 20 male and 38 female high school students. Found that, for males, scores on self-destructive inventory were more strongly associated with presence of suicidal ideation than were scores on depression inventory. Opposite was true for…

Attempts to clarify the legal issues involved in the duty of school counselors to warn and protect when counseling suicidal youths (unemancipated minors) and offers some guidelines on how to prevent legal vulnerability. Considers the liability crisis, standard of care, the right to privacy, and the balance between confidentiality and the duty to…

Administered Suicide Opinion Questionnaire (SOQ) to 100 Canadian and 100 United States college students. Found substantial intergroup differences, but no sex differences. Univariate analyses indicated significant differences on 8 of 15 SOQ factors, suggesting that Canadian college students perceive suicide as part of everyday life, not to be…

Examined existing literature on links between bereavement after suicide and the subsequent development of adolescents including increased suicide risks. Found inconsistent definitions of adolescence in literature, samples of adolescents were drawn from those in psychotherapy, and other methodological problems. (Author/ABL)

Three case studies serve as illustrations in this article offering research supported practical suggestions for teachers working with suicidal emotionally handicapped students. Risk factors are identified, and guidelines for communicating with a suicidal student are offered. (DB)

The article provides guidance to educators in responding to death in the school community. Considered are the grieving process, school intervention and postintervention procedures, roles of various staff members, and guidelines for staff. (DB)

Administered Suicide Opinion Questionnaire to college students in New Zealand (N=236) and United States (N=248). New Zealand students perceived more of a relationship between suicide and mental illness; perceived suicide as less serious; agreed with right to take one's life, and saw suicide in more religious context and as less impulsive, less…

Adolescents (N=53) and both parents completed Parent-Adolescent Communication Inventory (PACI) and Suicide-Depression Inventory (SDI). Found significant relationships between mother's and adolescent's scores, not between father's and adolescent's scores. When other independent variables were controlled, neither parents' scores were significantly…

Examines personality traits and life circumstances which place adolescents at higher risk for suicide. Discusses depression, acute suicidal behavior, poor family relationships, alcohol and drug use, recent loss, failure in school, and other characteristics. Urges parents and professionals to know suicide signs and be active in prevention and…

Tested predictive validity of stress-vulnerability model of suicide ideation and behavior. Undergraduates completed measures of social/emotional alienation, adaptive resources for living, and cognitive rigidity at beginning of semester. Measures of stress and cumulative negative life stress were obtained midterm. Found that combination of…

Identifies specific predictors of suicidal behavior in 100 adolescents during a 6-month follow-up period after psychiatric hospitalization. Eighteen percent reported suicidal behavior during the follow-up period, and this behavior was associated with suicidal thoughts, family dysfunction, and dysthymia. It was not associated with initial…

Examines the long- and short-term policy alternatives in reducing firearm deaths of children. The article advocates the need for multiple steps that include educational efforts such as conflict resolution; safety devices, such as trigger locks; security policies for schools to protect students; and gun access laws to reduce firearm acquisitions by…

Reviews verbal and physical abuse that threatens well-being and physical survival of lesbian, gay male, and bisexual youths. Notes that this response to gay male, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents by significant others in their environment is often associated with several problematic outcomes, including school-related problems, running away,…

Reviews the national and international epidemiological data on suicide mortality systematically by gender and culture and then discusses the implications these data hold for primary prevention. Suicide morality appears highest among individuals for whom such behavior is culturally sanctioned. Thus, an important target for primary prevention may be…