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Suicide

Dyadic Deaths (Homicide- Suicide): Three Case Reports

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Abstract:

Homicide suicide (dyadic) deaths though rare, have got important social impact. Here, three cases of dyadic deaths with perpetrator as husband in two cases and boy friend in one case are reported. In one of the case, victim was daughter along with wife. Suicide note by perpetrator was found in two cases. Factors like profile of perpetrator and relationship between perpetrator and victim, circumstances of killing, method of killing, site of offence, are important in such cases and various studies and case reports are based on these factors. In two cases, financial burden and in one case jealousy was the reason for killing.

Introduction:

Dyadic deaths (homicide – suicide) is defined as a dramatic violent event in which an individual kills another and subsequently commits suicide immediately or after certain period of time that may range from hours to 1 week. There is however no standardized operational definition... .

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Prison Suicide: An Overview and Guide to Prevention

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INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW

Writing about “difficult prisoners” in his autobiography Fifty Years of Prison Service, Zebulon R. Brockway appeared perturbed by the prospect of managing suicidal inmates and by the resulting publicity in the event of their deaths. As superintendent of Elmira Reformatory (often described as the original model from which progressive penology evolved) from 1876 to 1900, Warden Brockway described his experience with three prison suicides: One, a prisoner on parole in New York City who violated his obligations, was taken for kindly investigation to the secretary of the Prison Association, at the rooms then situated in the third story of the Bible House. While awaiting the secretary’s convenience the young man suddenly dashed through an open window to his death on the pavement below. The newspapers made a sensational account of it and inquired why, if the reformatory was as it should be, a paroled man should voluntarily go to his death rather than be returned to treatment there.

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Suicide Responsibility of Hospital and Psychiatrist

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SUICIDE IS NOW THE TENTH GREATEST CAUSE of death in the UnitedStates. It has become an increasingly larger factor statistically, because, as other causes of death come under medical control, the prevalence of suicide becomes more noticeable. In the last ten years, at the very minimum, two-hundred thousand (200,000) Americans have killed themselves, and in all likelihood, more Americans have died in the last twenty years at their own hands than were killed in World War II and the Korean War combined. It is also possible that suicides outnumber those killed in automobile accidents as is clearly the case in England.2 Thus the problem of suicide is a prominent public health problem in this country. Physicians and hospitals have an obvious concern, as do the law courts, where actions for wrongful death and negligence may involve suicide as a result of a tortious act. An example of the extremes reached in law was

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Risk Factors – Warning Signs of Suicide

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The most common risk factors associated with youth suicide include depression, previous suicide attempts, frequent thought about death, and the use of drugs or alcohol. The following information was accessed from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Website to provide you with additional information about identifying and managing potentially suicidal patients. Many of the signs and symptoms of suicide are similar to those of depression:

• Change in eating and sleeping habits • Withdrawal from friends, family, and regular activities • Violent actions, rebellious behavior, or running away • Drug and alcohol use • Unusual neglect of personal appearance • Marked personality change • Persistent boredom, difficulty concentrating, or a decline in the quality of schoolwork • Frequent complaints about physical symptoms, often related to emotions, such as stomachaches, headaches, fatigue, etc. • Loss of interest in pleasurable activities • Not tolerating praise or rewards

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Reducing a Suicidal Person’s Access to Lethal Means of Suicide

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Reducing the availability of highly lethal and commonly used suicide methods has been associated with declines in suicide rates of as much as 30%–50% in other countries. The theory and evidence underlying means restriction is outlined. Most evidence of its efficacy comes from population-level interventions and natural experiments. In the U.S., where 51% of suicides are completed with firearms and household firearm ownership is common and likely to remain so, reducing a suicidal person’s access to firearms will usually be accomplished not by fiat or other legislative initiative but rather by appealing to individual decision, for example, by counseling at-risk people and their families to temporarily store household firearms away from home or otherwise making household firearms inaccessible to the at-risk person until they have recovered. Providers, gatekeepers, and gun owner groups are important partners in this work. Research is needed in a number of areas: communications research to identify effective messages and messengers for “lethal means counseling,” clinical trials to identify effective interventions,

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Suicidal Hanging: A Prospective Study

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to focus on various factors associated with suicide by hanging at Chennai, India; with a view to identify the areas of intervention. A prospective study was carried out on 65 cases of death due to suicide by hanging which was received by the Institute of Forensic Medicine, Madras Medical College, Chennai, India, during the period of August 2008- July 2009. In the present study, 84.7%% of the cases were below the age of 40years, time of hanging in 50.8% of the cases was 3am-12noon, place of hanging in 95.5% of the cases was their residence, 92.3% were living with their family and 69.2% were married. Most frequent precipitating factors were marital unhappiness (33.8%), problems associated with organic disease (18.5%) and dowry harassment (16.8%). To reduce the incidence of suicides by hanging, there is urgent need to focus on these factors.

Introduction:

Suicide is a major socioeconomic and public health issue worldwide. Hanging is one of

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Fracture Of The Neck Structures In Suicidal Hangings: A Retrospective Study On Contributing Variables.

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Abstract

INTRODUCTION:

Several factors may play a role in the development of fractures of the neck structures in hanging. It has been repetitively demonstrated that the incidence of fractures increases with age. The role of other variables is less clear, different studies presenting contradictory results on the role of gender, the type of suspension, or the type of ligature. However, most of these studies evaluated these factors independently of the age of the victims. Considering that age is probably the most important factor in the development of neck structure fractures, all other contributing factors should be studied in relation to age. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the role of contributing factors to the development of neck structure fractures, taking age categories into account.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

A total of 206 cases were analysed for the presence and localization of thyroid fracture....

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Naked Suicide | Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law

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Marilyn Monroe was found lying nude, face down, with a sheet pulled over her dead body.1 After much publicity and controversy, the coroner ruled that she had died of acute barbiturate poisoning by overdose. The controversy about the cause of her death continues to this day. The naked body of Robert Maxwell, billionaire British tycoon, was found floating some distance from his yacht in the waters off Grand Canary Island. Maxwell was facing a scandal on his return to England involving the disappearance of corporate assets and pension fund monies. Although his death was ruled an accidental drowning, there was much doubt about the cause of his death. Theories of his demise included murder, suicide, heart attack, and accident. Cleopatra completed suicide shortly after Mark Antony fell on his sword. The legend is that she committed suicide by allowing herself to be bitten by a poisonous snake, an asp. A famous painting by the French artist Jean Andre´ Rixens (1846 –1924) depicts

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Understanding Mental Illness And Responding to Suicide In Criminal Justice Settings

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CRIMINAL JUSTICE STANDARDS ON MENTAL HEALTH

[Adopted August 8, 2016, to supplant the Third Edition (August 1984) of the ABA Criminal Justice Mental Health Standards, For the version of the Mental Health Standards in effect prior to August 8, 2016, please click here.]

PART I: THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND THE MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM

Standard 7-1.1. Terminology

(a) Unless otherwise specified, these Standards adopt the definition of “mental disorder” found in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association.* In the settings addressed by the Standards, mental disorder is most likely to encompass mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorders; developmental disabilities that affect intellectual and adaptive functioning; and substance use disorders that develop from repeated and extensive abuse of drugs or alcohol or some combination thereof.

(b) “Mental health professional,” as used in these Standards, includes psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and psychiatric nurses and other clinicians with expertise in the evaluation and treatment of mental disorders.

See Also: Criminal Justice Standards On Mental Health (2954 downloads )

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Time of Day Chosen for Suicide

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Abstract

Previous studies suggest that suicide occurrence varies by month and day of the week, but not by lunar phase. Variation by time of day has never before been adequately examined; to our knowledge, all previous studies have failed to obtain time-of-death information for a large percentage of cases. We examined suicide occurrence among residents of Sacramento County, CA, during the period from 1925 to 1983. Data were abstracted from coroner's autopsy and investigative reports. In contrast to previous studies, data on time of death were available for a large percentage of cases. 4,190 suicide deaths were identified during the study period. Suicide occurrence varied substantially by time of day; for both sexes and for ages under 65 years, the fewest suicide deaths occurred during the early morning hours, from 0401 to 0800. For recent years of the study, suicides occurred most frequently on Monday for both males and females and for most age groups. Variation by month followed no consistent pattern by gender, age,...

See Also: Variation In Suicide Occurrence By Time Of Day, Day Of The Week, Month, And Lunar Phase.

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Fracture of the neck structures in suicidal hangings: A Retrospective study

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ABSTRACT

Introduction: Several factors may play a role in the development of fractures of the neck structures in hanging. It has been repetitively demonstrated that the incidence of fractures increases with age. The role of other variables is less clear, different studies presenting contradictory results on the role of gender, the type of suspension, or the type of ligature. However, most of these studies evaluated these factors independently of the age of the victims. Considering that age is probably the most important factor in the development of neck structure fractures, all other contributing factors should be studied in relation to age. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the role of contributing factors to the development of neck structure fractures, taking age categories into account. Materials and methods: A total of 206 cases were analysed for the presence and localization of thyroid fracture. For each case, the following information was also compiled: the presence and localization of

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Deliberate Exposure To Motor Vehicle Exhaust Gas: The Psychosocial Profile Of Attempted Suicide.

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Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Deliberate exposure to motor vehicle exhaust gas has become the second most commonly used method of suicide in Australia. In an attempt to understand the factors contributing to the rise in popularity of this method, the psychosocial profiles, factors influencing method choice and circumstances of the act of self-harm were examined in a group of survivors.

METHOD:

A cross-sectional cohort study of 30 patients presenting for hyperbaric oxygen treatment having survived deliberate exposure to car exhaust gas was undertaken. A structured clinical interview was administered together with scales measuring depression, hopelessness and suicidal intent. Daily assessment of mental state and cognitive function was performed.

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Church Atendance, Denomination, and Suicide Ideology.

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Abstract

The influence of religion on attitudes toward suicide was explored, using a representative sample (N = 2,034) of 15- to 30-year-old Germans. The dependent variable was approval vs. disapproval of suicide in hopeless situations. A logit model that fits the data includes the variables of denomination, church attendance, education, and suicide of an acquaintance as well as a Church Attendance x Suicide of an Acquaintance interaction. Gender did not improve the fit of the model. The results of the analysis indicated that church attendance and Catholicism decreased support for suicide. The effect of religiosity on attitudes about suicide was not affected by gender or by education.

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Characteristics Of Homicide Followed By Suicide Incidents In Multiple States, 2003–04

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Abstract

Objective

To calculate the prevalence of homicide followed by suicide (homicide/suicide) and provide contextual information on the incidents and demographic information about the individuals involved using data from a surveillance system that is uniquely equipped to study homicide/suicide.

Methods

Data are from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). This active state‐based surveillance system includes data from seven states for 2003 and 13 states for 2004. The incident‐level structure facilitates identification of homicide/suicide incidents.

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Suicide: Psychache and Alienation

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Psychache (s?k-?k), a neologism coined by suicidologist Edwin Shneidman,1 is unbearable psychological pain hurt, anguish, soreness, and aching. Shneidman theorized that unresolved psychache results in suicidal behavior. In almost every case of suicide, psychache is the cause. Psychache stems from thwarted or distorted psychological needs . . . every suicidal act reflects some specific unfulfilled psychological need.

The particular frustrated need leading to the nuclear problem varies from person to person, as does the threshold for enduring psychological pain. Freud’s brilliant student Victor Tausk yearned for recognition from his mentor, but Freud was not generous in his praise. Tausk shot himself, with a noose around his neck. Robert Schumann’s psychache stemmed from loss when he was 16, his father died and his sister committed suicide in quick succession yet many people experience the loss of an important relationship and do not attempt suicide....

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Harman’s Suicide Renewed Interest in Huisentruit Case

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On November 29, 2011, Kansas City’s beloved Fox 4 meteorologist, Don Harman, 41, succumbed to a lifelong struggle with depression and took his own life in his home outside Kansas City, Missouri.

For 12 years, Harman gave the morning weather report on Fox 4, where he was known for silly antics and costumes, a self-deprecating sense of humor, and ‘Doppler Don,’ a character he created to teach school children about the weather

Harman’s co-worker, Loren Halifax, said co-workers knew Harman was haunted by depression and worked with him to sort through his feelings.

Mark Alford, who had been Harman’s co-worker for more than a decade, said that Harman was disturbed at work on the day of the suicide.

Harman had once worked at KIMT-TV in Mason City, Iowa, with Jodi Huisentruit, who disappeared June 27, 1995.

Harman once said about Huisentruit’s disappearance, “The world fell apart for a lot of us.”

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