Personality characteristics of people prone to suicidal behavior

What is suicidal behavior?

Suicidal behavior (thoughts) includes completed suicide and attempted suicide. Thoughts and plans about committing suicide are called suicidal ideation.

Suicide usually results from the interaction of many factors, usually including depression.

Some methods, such as using a weapon, are more likely to cause death, but choosing a less lethal method does not necessarily mean the intent was less serious.

Any suicide threat or attempted suicide should be taken seriously and the person should be given help and support. There is a hotline for people considering suicide.

Hotline number (anonymous, 24 hours a day, free).

Helplines: 8 (free in Moscow), (free in Russia).

Suicidal behavior includes the following:

• Completed suicide: A deliberate act of self-harm that results in death.
• Suicide Attempt: An act of self-harm that is intended to kill but does not result in death. Attempting suicide can also lead to trauma.

Non-suicidal self-harm is an act of self-harm where the goal is not death. Such acts include scratching one's hands, burning oneself with a cigarette, and overdosing on vitamins. Self-harm without suicidal tendencies can be a way to relieve tension or a call for help from people who still want to live. These acts must be viewed with the utmost seriousness.

Information on suicide rates comes primarily from death certificates and inquest reports, and the true suicide rate is likely higher. However, suicidal behavior is already an all too common health problem. Suicidal behavior occurs in men and women of all ages, races, religions, income levels, education levels and sexual orientation. There is no typical suicide pattern.

Statistics of suicides around the world

Worldwide, about 800,000 people die by suicide every year.

Suicide has become the second leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 29 years.

Evidence suggests that for every person who dies by suicide, many more people have attempted suicide. This ratio varies greatly depending on country, region, gender, age and method.

Do you know that…

Suicide is the leading cause of death among young people, but suicide rates are highest in people aged 45 to 54, followed by people aged 85 and over. Men are more likely to commit suicide than women. For every person who commits suicide, there are many others who have attempted it.

People who attempt suicide have a significantly reduced life expectancy. Much of the decline in life expectancy appears to be due to physical impairment rather than later suicide.

Causes and risk factors

Among people who kill themselves, about 1 in 6 people leave a suicide note, which sometimes contains clues as to why they did so.

Suicidal behavior usually results from the interaction of several factors.

The most common factor contributing to suicidal behavior is:

• Depression.

Depression , including the depression that is a component of bipolar disorder, occurs in more than 50% of attempted suicides and an even higher proportion of completed suicides. Depression can come on suddenly due to a recent loss or other distressing event, or as a result of a combination of different factors. For people with depression, family problems, a recent arrest or trouble with the law, an unhappy or ending love relationship, arguments with parents or bullying (among teenagers), or the recent loss of a loved one (especially among older adults) can lead to a suicide attempt. The risk of suicide is higher if people with depression also have significant anxiety.

What methods do suicides resort to?

The choice of suicide method is often influenced by cultural factors and the availability of the method. It may or may not reflect the seriousness of intent to commit suicide. With some methods of suicide (such as jumping from a tall building), survival is almost impossible, while with other methods (such as drug overdose), the person can still be saved. However, even if a person uses a method that does not prove fatal, his intent may have been just as serious as that of the person whose method was fatal.

Suicide attempts are most often associated with drug overdose and self-poisoning. Violent methods, such as suicide by gun and hanging, are rarely used in suicide attempts because they are usually fatal.

Most suicides involve a weapon. In the United States, guns are used in approximately 50% of suicides. Men use this method more often than women. Other methods include hanging, poisoning, jumping from heights and self-inflicted wounds. Some methods, such as driving a car off a cliff, can be dangerous to others.

Worldwide, pesticide poisoning accounts for about 30% of suicides.

Personality characteristics of people prone to suicidal behavior

Developmental psychology, acmeology | World of Pedagogy and Psychology No. 8 (25) August, 2018

UDC 159.9

Publication date 08/20/2018

Barsukov Alexander Valerievich Candidate of Psychology Sc., Associate Professor of the Department of General and Social Psychology, Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education “National Research Nizhny Novgorod State University named after. N.I. Lobachevsky, Russian Federation, Nizhny Novgorod, Burova Ekaterina Alekseevna psychologist of the department of general and social psychology, Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education “National Research Nizhny Novgorod State University named after. N.I. Lobachevsky, Russian Federation, Nizhny Novgorod,

Abstract: This article discusses the problem of suicidal behavior of an individual. Currently, this problem is relevant for psychological research. The authors examine the personal characteristics of persons prone to suicidal behavior. Particular attention is paid to the role of the family in the formation of suicidal behavior. The characteristic features of families that can influence the formation of suicidal behavior are given. This article is also complemented by a consideration of adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies and their relationship with suicidal behavior of the individual. The article draws attention to the fact that people prone to suicidal behavior use adaptive coping strategies less often than maladaptive ones. Key words: Suicidal behavior, personality traits, suicidal tendencies, coping strategies

Personal features of the people inclined to suicide behavior

Barsukov Alexander Valeryevich Cand.Sci.(Psychology.), associate professor of the Department of General and social psychology, NI Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod – National Research University, Russia, Nizhny Novgorod Burova Ekaterina Alekseevna psychologist of the Department of General and social psychology, NI Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod – National Research University, Russia, Nizhny Novgorod

Abstract: This article deals with the problem of suicidal behavior of the individual. Currently, this problem is relevant for psychological research. The authors consider the personal characteristics of persons prone to suicidal behavior. Special attention is paid to the role of the family in the formation of suicidal behavior. The characteristic features of families that can influence the formation of suicidal behavior are given. This article is also supplemented by the consideration of adaptive and non-adaptive coping strategies and their relationship with suicidal behavior. The article draws attention to the fact that persons prone to suicidal behavior are less likely to use adaptive coping strategies than non-adaptive. Keywords: Suicidal behavior, personality features, suicidal ideation, coping strategies

Suicidal behavior of an individual is one of the acute problems of modern society and serves as a unique indicator of public health and social well-being. Suicides occupy a leading place among the mortality rates of the working-age population and maintain an upward trend in a number of countries around the world, including the Russian Federation (U.I. Gradskova, 2015). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 1 million people commit suicide every year, and according to forecasts, by 2021, 1.5 million people will die as a result of suicide. In economically developed countries, the suicide rate is higher than in developing countries, and during periods of world wars and epidemics there is a tendency for a sharp decrease in suicidal behavior [4]. According to the sociological theory of E. Durkheim, increased material security leads to greater individualization of a person, and global cataclysms and wars are the reason for the unity of the population. A person focused on the highest values ​​of human life (mercy, kindness, mutual assistance, mutual assistance, etc.) has a goal in life, as a result, the feeling of loneliness, anxiety, detachment is eliminated and spiritual strength arises to combat life’s circumstances.

S.S. Surnin and U.Kh. Gadzhiev considers the dynamics of the development of suicidal behavior in connection with the spiritual, moral and ethical state of the individual and moral social attitudes [7]. When a person’s value system is destroyed or rethought, as well as when a person is disappointed in the material world, a person may develop suicidal behavior.

Traditionally in psychology, individual and personal properties are divided into innate and acquired. Conventionally, congenital traits of suicidal people can be called the presence of a depressive character and a tendency to impulsive reactions [3]. At the same time, we believe that without social influence the formation of traits predisposing to suicide is impossible. In this regard, the family of the suicide victim is analyzed as the most significant factor in the socialization of the individual.

A number of domestic scientists who have studied the problem of suicide cite an unfavorable family environment as one of the main factors of suicidal behavior [2]: a situation of long-term conflict in the family or divorce of parents, loss of significant attachment (death of a parent), absence of a “significant adult” in the family, etc.

A study was conducted on the relationship between suicidal activity in adolescents and family upbringing factors [5]. The authors argue that suicidal behavior in adolescents is influenced by both individual psychological characteristics of the individual and the type of upbringing of the child in the family. With a positive attitude from the family, the child can develop psychological defense mechanisms and behavioral patterns that allow him to adequately respond to emerging stressful situations and reduce negative emotional background. Inattention and an insufficiently serious attitude towards your child, his problems and experiences can become factors that increase the likelihood of suicide attempts in adolescence.

Most suicide researchers focus on the presence of completed or unfinished acts of suicide in the families of suicide victims. In these families, subsequent suicides are significantly more common. Studies of families of suicide victims indicate the presence of the following educational dysfunctions: low level of parental warmth (rejection of the child), underdeveloped communication functions of the family and family support, high levels of violence and traumatic experiences in childhood, and conflict situations in general [1, 2, 5]. Those who have attempted suicide describe the family as having low cohesion, less support, and less adaptability to change. By talking through his experiences to the mother, the child feels accepted and protected by the parent, due to which the traumatic experience is discharged. The condition for the child's frankness should be the parents' acceptance and consistency. If this mechanism does not work, traumatic experience accumulates with underdeveloped coping strategies and mature defense mechanisms.

A.S. Oreshkina studied coping strategies in suicidal patients in comparison with relatively healthy subjects. The author claims that in the group with conditionally healthy subjects, such coping behavior as planning decisions, seeking social support, and positive reappraisal of the life situation are significantly expressed. For the group of suicide victims, such coping behavior as escape-avoidance, when used, does not resolve the problem situation, is significantly expressed. The author also states the presence of a subjective feeling of loneliness among suicide victims in comparison with the norm group [6].

Abramova N.M. notes that suicidal people statistically significantly less often use adaptive coping strategies “problem analysis”, “optimism”, “cooperation” [1]. At the same time, they more often use maladaptive coping strategies such as aggressiveness, ignoring, confusion, and active avoidance. The formation of maladaptive coping strategies is associated with internal conflict structures of self-attitude: “internal conflict,” “self-blame,” “self-humiliation.” The author states that suicidal people have compensatory aspects of self-attitude in the form of self-acceptance, autosympathy, and self-esteem.

Thus, to prevent suicidal behavior, it is necessary to pay attention to the personal characteristics of people that may characterize a tendency to suicidal behavior. Also, the use of adaptive coping strategies may be a means of overcoming suicidal behavior.

Bibliography

1. Abramova N.M. Personal and ethnocultural characteristics of persons who have committed suicide attempts by poisoning: abstract of thesis. dis. ...cand. medical Sciences: - St. Petersburg. scientific research psychoneurol. Institute named after V.M. Bekhterev. - St. Petersburg, 2005. - 22 p. 2. Antonova A. A., Bachilo E. V., Barylnik Yu. B. Risk factors for the development of suicidal behavior // Saratov Journal of Medical Scientific Research. 2012. No. 2. T. 8. P. 403–409 3. Wiener C. Kerig. P. Psychopathology of the development of childhood and adolescence.. - St. Petersburg: prime-EUROZNAK; 2004. - 384 p. 4. Durkheim, E. Suicide: A Sociological Study / Translated, from French. with abbr.; Ed. V.A. Bazarova.- M.: Mysl, 1994.-399 p. 5. Minullina A.F., Sarbaeva O.Yu. The relationship between factors of family education and suicidal activity in adolescents // PM. 2015. No. 5 (90). 6. Oreshkina A.S. Features of coping behavior of a suicidal person // Social and clinical psychiatry. — 2017. — Volume 27, Issue. 3. - pp. 43-48. 7. Surnina S.S., Gadzhieva U.Kh. The concept of spiritual and moral characteristics of the individual and their role in the formation of suicidal intentions // Bulletin of medical Internet conferences, Vol. 5, Issue 2, 2015, pp. 101-102.

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Prevention

Although some suicide attempts or completed suicides come as a shock even to a person's family and friends, many people issue clear warnings. Any threat or attempt to commit suicide should be taken seriously. If you ignore it, you can lose a person.

If a person threatens imminent suicide or has already attempted suicide, you should immediately contact the police so that emergency services can arrive on the scene as soon as possible. Before help arrives, you need to speak calmly and favorably to the person.

The doctor may hospitalize people who have threatened or attempted suicide. Most states allow a doctor to hospitalize people against their will if the doctor believes there is a high risk of harm to themselves or others.

Suicide prevention: Helplines and psychological help hotlines.

People who threaten to commit suicide are in crisis. Helplines and psychological help hotlines (see below) provide crisis intervention for such people throughout Russia.

Hotline number (anonymous, 24 hours a day, free).

Helplines: 8 (free in Moscow), (free in Russia).

When people with potential suicidal tendencies call the hotline, the specialist does the following:

• Seeks to connect with them by reminding them of their identity (for example, repeatedly using their name);
• Can offer constructive assistance in resolving the problem that led to the crisis and encourage the person to take clear action to resolve it;
• Can remind a person that they have family and friends who care about them and want to help;
• May try to arrange a personal meeting with a specialist who can provide the person with emergency professional assistance.

Suicidal tendencies

DEFINITION, ETIOLOGY and PATHOGENESIStop

Suicide is a deliberate act of self-destruction caused by an extremely frustrating situation. A suicide attempt occurs when a person feels unbearable suffering caused by the situation in which he finds himself, helplessness in the face of this situation and lack of hope for changing it.

In the vast majority of cases, suicidal frustration occurs in connection with severe mental disorders, mainly of a depressive nature.

CLINICAL PICTURE AND DIAGNOSTICStop

Algorithm for dealing with a patient with suicidal tendencies

1. Try to get the patient's point of view. Ask questions: does he think about death? What is the source of suffering? Why does he feel powerless and there is no hope of changing the situation? Don't challenge the patient's feelings!

2. Assess the risk of suicide, as well as indications for consultation and psychiatric hospitalization. Determine if you have:

1) only defeatist thoughts and thoughts about suicide - “it would be best if I no longer lived,” “my loved ones would appreciate me if they lost me,” etc.; thoughts of this type indicate a difficult psychological situation, but the risk of implementation is small → does not require urgent intervention, a routine psychiatric consultation is recommended;

2) suicidal thoughts - consideration of arguments for and against suicide, reflection on the method of committing it → urgent psychiatric consultation or forced referral to a psychiatric hospital is indicated, where a psychiatrist decides on the presence of indications for hospitalization;

3) suicidal tendencies - preparations for committing suicide and planning it (writing a suicide note, stockpiling medications, checking a place where you can make a fatal jump, etc.) → an absolute indication for emergency and, if necessary, involuntary hospitalization in a psychiatric ward.

The risk of suicide increases when suicidal thoughts are associated with acute psychotic symptoms (eg, suicidal hallucinations, delusions of self-blame and sinfulness, delusions of doom) and in cases of substance abuse.

3. Take advantage of the fact that those with suicidal tendencies often have:

1) ambivalent attitude towards death. An understanding attitude towards the difficulties of choosing between life and death and strengthening the tendency to live can help more than challenging the validity of suicide. Try to instill in the patient a positive attitude towards psychiatric treatment and admission to a psychiatric ward. It is better if the patient is hospitalized at his own request.

2) impulsive thoughts on this topic. In the vast majority of cases, suicidal tendencies disappear after a change in the situation or its reassessment by the patient (change in mental state). Psychiatric hospitalization is an effective way to prevent suicide through enhanced monitoring of the patient. It is worth bringing to the attention of the patient that during hospitalization he will receive help in finding a solution to the situation that caused suicidal tendencies.

3) rigidity of thinking and assessment of one’s own situation, which limits the possibilities of seeing alternative ways out of the situation to death. Showing possible solutions can reduce thoughts and suicidal tendencies.

4. Comply with current laws: psychiatric treatment against the will of the patient can only be carried out in accordance with the Law on Psychiatric Care and Guarantees of the Rights of Citizens in its Provision. Involuntary hospitalization for suicidal risk is possible only if there are mental disorders that pose an immediate danger to the patient or others.

TREATMENT to the top

General algorithm of actions

1. Place the patient in a room where he cannot jump out of the window. Remove from the room all objects that the patient could use to commit suicide.

2. Provide constant enhanced monitoring of the patient (in the emergency room or in the department), as well as conditions that make unauthorized care impossible.

3. Conduct a medical examination to assess the mental state and risk of suicide.

4. Use pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy depending on the identified mental disorders.

5. If self-aggressive behavior persists despite the use of psychological and pharmacological interventions → restrain the patient or limit his actions using soft restraint.

6. When organizing psychological support for a patient, take into account possible help from family and friends.

7. If the patient is receiving psychiatric or psychotherapeutic treatment, call his psychiatrist.

8. Arrange for psychiatric consultation and, if necessary, referral to a psychiatric department.

Pharmacological treatment

Remember that the effects of antidepressants do not appear earlier than after 2 weeks. their use.

1. In case of anxiety symptoms requiring the use of pharmacotherapy, use benzodiazepines → table. 21.4-1.

2. The risk of suicidal tendencies increases if sleep disorders are present, therefore, regardless of the provision of supervision, the use of appropriate sleeping pills is indicated: with a short half-life (zaleplon, zolpidem, zopiclone, as well as short-acting benzodiazepines - estazolam, lormetazepam, temazepam), if there are only difficulties falling asleep, and with a long half-life (eg nitrazepam), if there are awakenings and difficulties falling asleep again at night. In case of mental disorders requiring urgent relief, use appropriate medications → section. 21.4.2.

Situation management

Doctors take any suicidal act seriously, regardless of whether the person actually intended to commit suicide or not.

If a person seriously harms himself, doctors evaluate and treat the injury, and the person is usually hospitalized. If people overdose on a potentially fatal drug, doctors take immediate steps to prevent the drug from being absorbed and speed up its elimination from the body. People are also given any available antidote and supportive treatment, such as a breathing tube.

After an initial assessment, people who have attempted suicide are referred to a psychiatrist who tries to identify the problems that led to the attempt and plan appropriate treatment.

To identify problems, psychiatrists do the following:

• Listen to what the person has to say.
• They are trying to understand what made a person commit suicide, what led to this attempt, where and how it happened.
• Questions are asked about symptoms of mental disorders that increase the risk of suicidal behavior.
• Asks whether the person is receiving treatment for a mental disorder, including whether the person is taking any medications to treat it
• Assess a person's mental state, looking for signs of depression, anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, severe insomnia, other mental disorders, and alcohol or drug use.
• Ask questions about personal and family relationships.
• Talk to close family and friends and ask them questions about the person's use of alcohol, marijuana, painkillers and drugs.
• Help a person identify things that trigger thoughts of suicide and plan ways to deal with the triggers.

Because depression increases the risk of suicidal behavior, doctors closely monitor people with depression for suicidal behavior and thoughts.

Some evidence suggests that using lithium, antidepressants, and antipsychotics to treat mood disorders in people at risk of suicide may reduce suicide rates. Treatment of schizophrenia with clozapine reduces the risk of suicide.

Correction

Correction of the behavior of a person prone to suicide (or who has already attempted suicide) should take into account the influence on the suicide from the social environment. Here, psychological assistance should be considered in at least 3 areas:

1. Professional work: assistance from psychologists and psychiatrists. This work is especially important during a period of acute crisis - on the eve of or after a suicide attempt. Both drug exposure and psychotherapeutic work are designed to overcome the emotional state of a suicidal person at the peak of his stress.

The procedure for establishing emotional contact and the step-by-step, precise identification of the smallest details are applicable here - both the reasons for the act itself and the personality traits of the suicider. During the correction, a behavior model that is different from the suicide scenario is gradually integrated into the individual’s personal ideas.

1. Help from the immediate social environment - close relatives and friends. A suicide requires adequate attention: not intrusive with a desire for overprotection, but patient with emotional support. Frank conversations, demonstration of unconditional love or friendship, listening skills, etc.
2. The general impact of the social environment - the team (employees, fellow students). It is important to form an adequate attitude towards the situation of suicide. There is no need to focus on what happened - there is no need to once again “offer condolences” or address in the form of “yes, it happens to everyone!” A tolerant attitude with maintaining positive feedback to the requests of a person with suicidal tendencies will be constructive.

Suicide effect

Death by suicide has a significant emotional impact on all people involved. Family, friends, and doctors may feel guilt, shame, and remorse for not preventing the suicide. They may also feel anger towards the deceased. Eventually they may realize that they could not have prevented the suicide.

Sometimes a bereavement therapist or self-help group can help the bereaved family and friends cope with their feelings of guilt and grief.

The effect of attempting suicide is similar. However, a person's family and friends have the ability to soothe their feelings by responding appropriately to a call for help.

The first stage is thoughts

At the first stage, recognizing a person’s intentions is the most difficult, but possible. Thoughts about your own imminent death can be expressed in a low, even depressed mood, absent-mindedness, and frequent gloomy thoughtfulness. The person smiles little, has become more withdrawn, taciturn, and avoids usual communication. A person ceases to be pleased with what made him happy before. He may begin to eat significantly less, listen to sad, anxious, tense music, or, on the contrary, stop listening to music altogether.

What to do if you notice changes at this stage? Be near! Be careful but attentive to what is happening to the person, talk about his problems without devaluing them, and sincerely share with him the complexity of the situation. Be sure, without delaying, without delaying until later, to suggest that he see a psychologist! And, if he doesn’t mind, go with him, because you most likely need help too.