Attempted Suicide: An Ethological Perspective

ABSTRACT: Attempted suicides are complex phenomena. Examination of the observed and described behavior permits an analogy to be drawn between them and the biological concept of “conservation withdrawal.” This takes cognizance of innate responses, individual differences and changing socio-cultural standards. Such a formulation more readily allows a non-judgmental approach to the patient, with acceptance of both the appeal and wish to die components. In addition, it offers a different view of the nosological debate, rendering the differences more apparent than real.     

13 Perspective: Suicide in Europe

In many European countries, suicidal behavior constitutes a major public and mental health problem. In most countries, the number of suicides is significantly higher than the number of deaths due to traffic accidents. According to official figures, the suicide rates among European countries differ widely; for example, Hungary has the highest rates. Suicide attempt rates, based on data from the WHO/Euro Multicentre project on Parasuicide, equally show variation; for example, the highest average rate of suicide attempts is for Helsinki, Finland. This paper outlines the epidemiological findings and then presents some hypotheses (e.g., age, ethnic difference) to explain the differences.     

Suicide and Alcohol: Conceptualizing the Relationship From a Cognitive-Social Paradigm

This article presents a formulation of the association between alcohol consumption and suicidal behavior derived from recent advances in the area of social cognition. It is suggested that the social cognitive mechanism of alcohol-induced myopia may serve an important role in developing a comprehensive conceptualization of the alcohol-suicide relationship. Implications for practitioners and ethical considerations of further research in this area are discussed.     

Suicide Prevention from a Public Health Perspective

The public health approach to health problems provides a strong framework and rationale for developing and implementing suicide prevention programs. This approach consists of health-event surveillance to describe the problem, epidemiologic analysis to identify risk factors, the design and evaluation of interventions, and the implementation of prevention programs. The application of each of these components to suicide prevention is reviewed. Suggestions for improving surveillance include encouraging the use of appropriate coding, reviewing suicide statistics at the local level, collecting more etiologically useful information, and placing greater emphasis on analysis of morbidity data. For epidemiologic analysis, greater use could be made of observational studies, and uniform definitions and measures should be developed and adopted. Efforts to develop interventions must include evaluating both the process and the outcome. Finally, community suicide prevention programs should include more than one strategy and, where appropriate, should be strongly linked with the community's mental health resources. With adequate planning, coordination, and resources, and the public health approach can help reduce the emotional and economic costs imposed on society by suicide and suicidal behavior.     

Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Mental Health Perspective

Despite their wealth of relevant clinical and research experience, mental health professionals have contributed relatively little to the active and ongoing debate about physicians assisting in the suicide of their patients. Methodologies developed for the study of completed suicide, the knowledge they have revealed, and the complex questions that remain unanswered, all must be considered. Similarly, psychiatry's extensive contributions to our understanding of the doctor-patient relationship, fundamental to the practice of psychodynamically informed treatments, have been almost completely ignored. Mental health care providers have much to contribute to, and should become actively involved in, this important public health and policy debate.     

在政治灾难视野下的认同与文化斗争

波兰总统专机的事故引发了波兰国内一系列纪念活动,民众否定了之前对已故总统的敌意,这个重新审视的过程,将成为波兰传统认同回归公共领域的开端。波兰历史上经历了集权主义和自由主义民主的历程,在后一阶段中,波兰在公共领域形成了一个一般性界限。波兰人民在反抗这个强加的界限、找回传统认同的过程中团结起来,已故总统就是代表。     

Suicide and Attachment: Fear of Abandonment and Isolation from a Developmental Perspective

Suicide risk has been found to be associated with particular attachment styles. The purpose of this paper is to discuss suicide risk in terms of family dynamics, and the development of attachments with others. Theories of suicide and development, including those by Freud, Erikson, Bowlby, Richman, and Kaplan, and their clinical implications, are discussed. Literary works by Kafka and Plath are also discussed in the context of suicide and attachment. It is concluded that families characterized by excessive enmeshment and/or detachment often produce an atmosphere of isolation and intolerance which increases suicide risk.     

老子:从反讽的立场看

老子哲学的最大特征是对现实的批判性反思,这种反思植根于他对历史的深切认识、对其生活时代虚假的社会礼俗的反感与厌倦,由此表现为对个体主观自由的认同和追求,表现为对个人道德的重视和强调。这种反思在语言层面上被赋予“正言若反”的特征,最终落实为“无”的形上体认。如此恰似苏格拉底开启的反讽传统。从反讽的立场可见老子哲学的世界品格。     

逻辑心理主义：一种信念修正的视角

以穆勒为代表的逻辑心理主义与以弗雷格为代表的反心理主义之间的争论由来已久。逻辑心理主义认为,逻辑是心理学的一部分或是其分支,具有描述性;反心理主义则认为,应当把心理的东西从逻辑中剔除,逻辑只是规范性的。信念修正理论虽具有规范性特质,但是当信念状态层级从低层级走向高层级时,其规范性解释力度则会降低,这表明信念状态的改变会受到经验描述的影响,信念修正理论研究有从规范性走向描述性的层级区分。信念修正理论一定程度上能为弱逻辑心理主义在逻辑中的合法性提供支持,并将心理主义与反心理主义聚焦在人即主体上。     

3 Culture and Ego-Ideal in Suicide: An Adult Case

A case is presented in which the patient's self-expectations, arising from his ego ideal, were violated by a conflict with his wife, who came from a different culture and did not share his marital and family values. When she left him he was devastated, not only by the loss of his family, but by the destruction of his ideal vision of himself as a husband and father. A dangerous suicide attempt followed. The psychodynamic formulation of the case and the treatment that followed from it are discussed.     

The Vulnerability of Young Japanese Women and Suicide

ABSTRACT: Young Japanese females had the highest suicide rate in the world until the end of the 1960s, and it is still extremely high. This paper attempts to explain this phenomenon primarily in terms of vulnerability—in their personalities, social conditions, and role conflicts. Concomitant psychological traits and social conditions are discussed. The cultural conflict of young Japanese women is explicated in terms of psychological and historical information. In addition, the reasons for the differences between the suicide rates among females in the Tokyo area and the Kyoto-Osaka area are explored largely in terms of concepts relating to authoritarianism and its correlates.     

因果影响与函数式依赖:从逻辑的视角分析

近年来,关于如何刻画系统中变量间的相互依赖和相互影响在计算机以及哲学研究中激起了广泛讨论。其中非常经典的工作包括Pearl、Gales以及Halpern等逻辑学家和计算机科学家提出的因果模型和基于因果模型的因果逻辑。而最新Baltag与van Benthem的工作又提出了通过函数式依赖这一概念分析变量间影响的模型。本文将介绍并探讨这两种路径之间的关系,并且提出,在对Halpern等人的因果模型和逻辑做认知方面的扩充之后,我们能在这两种路径中找到更多共通之处。     

Risk Factors of a Suicide Reattempt by Seasonality and the Method of a Previous Suicide Attempt: A Cohort Study in a Japanese Primary Care Hospital

Suicide has a great impact on the individual whose life is lost and the bereaved family members. The risk of a suicide reattempt is particularly high during the first 12 months after a suicide attempt. In this cohort study, risk factors for a suicide reattempt were explored among 291 patients at suicide risk. Clinical and demographic data were collected from a Japanese primary care hospital. Past psychiatric history and multiple diagnoses were associated with suicide reattempts in both genders. Drug overdose, past psychiatric history, and the summer season were linked to suicide reattempts among males. Past psychiatric history and multiple diagnoses were linked to suicide reattempts among females. Appropriate assessment of past psychiatric history, season and method of suicide attempt, gender, and diagnosis may play a role in preventing suicide.     

Impulse and Self-Control From a Dual-Systems Perspective

ABSTRACT— Though human beings embody a unique ability for planned behavior, they also often act impulsively. This insight may be important for the study of self-control situations in which people are torn between their long-term goals to restrain behavior and their immediate impulses that promise hedonic fulfillment. In the present article, we outline a dual-systems perspective of impulse and self-control and suggest a framework for the prediction of self-control outcomes. This framework combines three elements that, considered jointly, may enable a more precise prediction of self-control outcomes than they do when studied in isolation: impulsive precursors of behavior, reflective precursors, and situational or dispositional boundary conditions. The theoretical and practical utility of such an approach is demonstrated by drawing on recent evidence from several domains of self-control such as eating, drinking, and sexual behavior.     

Counseling in Thailand: Development From a Buddhist Perspective

The authors present historical and current accounts of the counseling profession in Thailand. In addition to the influences of Buddhism on counselor training and practices, professional issues such as licensure, professional organizations, and the relationship between counselors and other mental health professionals are summarized. The role of counselors in recent political and natural disasters is highlighted, along with the importance of adapting Western counselor training and service practices to better meet the needs of the Thai population.