Undergraduates (N=80) responded to 16 fictional suicide case histories with judgments indicating their perception of the "justifiability" of the suicidal act. Results showed that personal characteristics of the suicidal individual made little difference, but the nature of the crisis confronting the suicidal individual affected judgments…

Investigated attitudes toward suicide and death across two intrafamilial generations to better understand possible causal factors underlying increasing suicide rates among the young. Findings indicate support for the hypothesis that the youthful generation holds more "accepting" attitudes toward suicide and death than does the parental…

Examined the literature dealing with the relation of occupation to suicide for three occupational categories: health care providers, managerial and professional persons, and military and paramilitary personnel. Presents evidence relating to group differences in suicidal behavior. Considers theories explaining variations in incidence of suicide.…

Examines mental health issues, especially alcoholism, suicide, and social depression, related to the counseling of Black women. Recommends improved mental health services, counselor/clinical training programs, and additional research focusing on the causes of stress among Black women. (Author/MW)

Views suicide as an historical indicator of social factors related to urbanization and urban life. Discusses historical and contemporary problems with data collection, especially in terms of race and sex of victims and underreporting among particular groups. Suggests theoretical approaches to the study of suicide in contemporary society. (GC)

Studied older male suicides as more often perceived by survivors as being physically ill, whereas older female suicides were more often seen as having a mental disorder. Older suicides typically use very lethal means and are less likely to have been involved with alcohol, drugs, or violence than younger suicides. (Author)

A suicide potential scale is constructed that fits the Guttman scale criteria. The mean suicide potential scores of various age groups support the cohort model with the exception of individuals 75 and older, where it appears that maturation factors play an important role in explaining suicidal behavior. (Author)

Suggests that stress on the rapid establishment of "cognitive re-structuring" is inappropriate for many types of suicidal clients. Bracketing and stabilization are suggested as alternative means to increase client ability to grasp personal orientations and perspectives. Stress on the client's ability to control is important. (Author)

Examines the changing occupational patterns of Chinese Americans in the past 100 years. Considers the historic background of legal and socioeconomic restrictions, occupation accommodation, differences between native and foreign-born Chinese, Chinese entrepreneurship, the Chinatown sub-economy, and the health status of Chinese with work experience.…

Counselors must become aware of psychosocial and legal aspects of sexual abuse of children in order to provide much-needed assistance through informational programs and to establish clear channels of communication with referral agencies catering to needs of abused children. Frequently, school counselors are the only available confidants in the…

This article represents an overview of the various types of evaluation research conducted in the fields of crisis intervention, suicide prevention, and mental health in general. An attempt is made to classify it according to its content and purpose, and to assess the relative merit of each. (Author)

Reports on two studies that explore assessment and treatment issues pertaining to suicidal student-clients. Results suggest that Suicide Status Form (SSF) items have good convergent validity and that differences exist between client and clinician pretreatment SSF ratings. Client pretreatment SSF ratings could accurately classify clients into…

An elementary school librarian relates her experience talking a fifth grade boy out of committing suicide. Raises the question of librarian-student confidentiality in assembling a crisis management team. Argues that the school library should be a refuge, a place to get books and information, and love. (PEN)

A sample of 116 suicidal adolescent Hispanic females (70% of whom were Dominicans) were assessed on diagnostic, acculturative, and risk behavior instruments. Biculturalism and substance use were uniquely associated with sexual activity. High acculturation and psychopathology as a block were associated with substance use (cigarettes, alcohol, and…

A review of several adolescent suicide prevention procedures and empirical evidence regarding their effectiveness finds that, although research is limited, best practice involves a school-based prevention approach that includes a mixture of primary and secondary prevention components. Seven specific recommendations to schools are offered. (DB)