To those TIPSters who are interested, Joiner uses the same framework for suicide as an overarching theme in his book - although he adds acquired fearlessness (as a consequence of habituation to thoughts/images, etc. of death) as a third causal factor. In contrast to Mike, I've actually found the ongoing discussion here quite useful and provocative - although that's perhaps because I never saw the discussion here as primarily about how best to prevent suicide (I don't know anyone who would seriously contend that bridge barriers are a crucial part of the solution, nor that they say much about the causes of suicidal motivation). Instead, I think that the recent discussion of what kinds of evidence we'd find compelling for preventative effects in naturalistic contexts is actually quite fascinating - and it's helped me to realize that acquiring such evidence is often a heck of a lot more challenging that most people (myself included) had assumed. ...Scott
Scott O. Lilienfeld, Ph.D. Professor Editor, Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice Department of Psychology, Room 473 Psychology and Interdisciplinary Sciences (PAIS) Emory University 36 Eagle Row Atlanta, Georgia 30322 [email protected] (404) 727-1125 Psychology Today Blog: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-skeptical-psychologist 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-140513111X.html Scientific American Mind: Facts and Fictions in Mental Health Column: http://www.scientificamerican.com/sciammind/ The Master in the Art of Living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his intellectual passions. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him - he is always doing both. - Zen Buddhist text (slightly modified) -----Original Message----- From: Mike Palij [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, July 31, 2010 8:30 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Cc: Mike Palij Subject: Re: [tips] Bloor street bridge suicide study 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=13509.d0999cebc8f4ed4eb54d5317367e9b2f&n=T&l=tips&o=3687 or send a blank email to leave-3687-13509.d0999cebc8f4ed4eb54d5317367e9...@fsulist.frostburg.edu This e-mail message (including any attachments) is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this message (including any attachments) is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please contact the sender by reply e-mail message and destroy all copies of the original message (including attachments). --- 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=3691 or send a blank email to leave-3691-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
