In a number of respects, the disucssion about the Bloor street bridge suicide study, I think, focuses on a small though dramatic aspect about how suicide is committed. I don't think it is really very useful and would suggest the following recent article for one framework that attempts to provide theoretical context to understand the processes involved in understanding the phenomenon of suicide:
Van Orden, K. A., Witte, T. K., Cukrowicz, K. C., Braithwaite, S. R., Selby, E. A., & Joiner, T. E., Jr. (2010). The interpersonal theory of suicide. Psychological Review, 117(2), 575-600. doi:10.1037/a0018697 Yes, Joiner (to whom Scott refers to) is a co-author and, no, barriers or related issues are not a big factor though mental illness and a possible genetic predisposition may be causal factors. In addition, consider the following quote from Joiner's faculty page: |The desire for death, according to Joiner, is comprised of two psychological |states. One is a perception of being a burden to others, having let everyone |down, and the other is a feeling of not belonging, not feeling connected to a |family or a relationship. Alone, neither of these states is enough to instill the |desire for death, but together they produce a desire that can be deadly when |combined with the ability to enact self-injury. http://www.fsu.edu/profiles/joiner/ The use of barriers would only be a factor when a person considers the means to suicide, whether a seemingly effective method is available and can be easily used. Barriers on bridges may affect a person's perception of bridges as an easy tool for committing suicide but the real problem, the motivation for suicide, appears to be a more complex matter, which some may have been lost sight of. Take care, -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=3687 or send a blank email to leave-3687-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
