The very uncomfortable "odd ball out" aspect of suicides in the military

The very uncomfortable "odd ball out" aspect of suicides in the military

Sanctity of life is the central part of Judeo-Christian Ethics. Therefore the idea and the consideration of suicide as a result and product of self-regulatory mechanism of military group dynamics aimed at enhancing its cohesion and functional ability by extruding and expelling one of its dysfunctioning members feels foreign and unacceptable to us. However, any human group is a living organism which is governed by its biopsychosocial laws with the same certainty and inevitability as any biological organism is governed by its biological laws. The question is the price: is any presumed or putative advantage in cohesion and functioning worth the loss of human life and the loss of the member of the military community? The answer of course, intuitive but firm, is "no" and "no; under any circumstances". Then, it becomes, again, the issue of better understanding and better management of complex relationships between the military groups and their individual members.

References and Links

military group dynamics

Group Dynamics - Presented by Capt Tim Gleaton, CAP

Wilfred Bion - From Wikipedia

 

Sanctity of life - From Wikipedia 
 

Social cohesion - From Wikipedia

 

Structural cohesion - From Wikipedia 

Perceived cohesion
Perceived Cohesion Scale (PCS) is a six item scale that is used to measure structural cohesion in groups. In 1990, Bollen and Hoyle used the PCS and applied it to a study of large groups which were used to assess the psychometric qualities of their scale.^[3]
 

See also

• Community cohesion
• Social cohesion
• Structural cohesion 

References

1. ^ Moody, James; White, Douglas (2003). "Structural Cohesion and Embeddedness: A Hierarchical Concept of Social Groups." (PDF). American Sociological Review 68 (1): 1–25. http://www2.asanet.org/journals/ASRFeb03MoodyWhite.pdf. Retrieved 2006-08-19. 

 

1. ^ White, Douglas; Frank Harary (2001). "The Cohesiveness of Blocks in Social Networks: Node Connectivity and Conditional Density." (book). Sociological Methodology 2001 (Blackwell Publishers, Inc., Boston, USA and Oxford, UK.) 31 (1): 305–359. doi:10.1111/0081-1750.00098. http://eclectic.ss.uci.edu/~drwhite/sm-w23.PDF. Retrieved 2012-08-13. 

 

1. ^ Chin, Wynne W., et al. Perceived Cohesion: A Conceptual and Empirical Examination: Adapting and Testing the Perceived Cohesion Scale in a Small-Group Setting. 1999. Small Group Research 30(6):751-766.

Dance Therapy Links

Dance Therapy Links

 

dance therapy - GS

 

Dance therapy - From Wikipedia

Principles
The theory of DMT is based upon the idea that “the body and mind are inseparable”.^[3]
“Dance movement therapy rests on certain theoretical principles. These are:

• Body and mind interact, so that a change in movement will affect total functioning
• Movement reflects personality
• The therapeutic relationship is mediated at least to some extent non-verbally, for

example through the therapist mirroring the client’s movement

• Movement contains a symbolic function and as such can be evidence of unconscious process
• Movement improvisation allows the client to experiment with new ways of being
• DMT allows for the recapitulation of early object relationships by virtue of the largely non-verbal mediation of the latter”^[4]

Through the unity of the body, mind, and spirit, DMT provides a sense of wholeness to all individuals.^[3] 

 

Links

gurdjieff - GS

gurdjieff dance - GS

war dance - GS

War dance - From Wikipedia

 

A war dance is a dance involving mock combat, usually in reference to tribal warrior societies where such dances were performed as a ritual connected with endemic warfare. Martial arts in various cultures can be performed in dance-like settings for various reasons, such as for evoking ferocity in preparation for battle or showing off skill in a more stylized manner. Many such martial arts incorporate music, especially strong percussive rhythms

 

See also

• Display behaviour
• Military drill
• Show of force
• Weasel war dance

Sabre Dance - From Wikipedia

 

External links

• Article with several recordings, NPR

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War/Dance

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 Notes
Seriously consider and explore the possibilities and advantages of Dance Therapy - GS
Let the "gay" and the "straight" guys and garls dance War Dances together. It probably will bond them together as nothing else.
Hire the best dance therapists and composers to create a new therapeutic movement: Military Dance Therapy.

War Dances - YouTube

American Indian Ceremonial and War Dances

 

Uploaded by diggsduke on Jun 20, 2011

From a compilation of Native American music entitled "American Indian Ceremonial and War Dances"

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Immortals - Dance with Sabers LIVE. "Georgian Fire" National Ballet Metekhi Potskhishvili

Uploaded by david potskhishvili on Apr 6, 2010

Immortals - Dance with Sabers LIVE. "Georgian Fire" National Ballet Metekhi Potskhishvili
Национальный балет Грузии «МЕТЕХИ» имини: Поцхишвили. с программой ''Огонь Грузии''

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Liberace playing Saber Dance

Uploaded by showmanlee on Aug 7, 2008

Here is Liberace performing Saber Dance from the 50's

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Prokofiev - Dance of the Knights - YouTube Search

 

 

 *

PROKOFIEV - Romeo & Juliet - Ballet

 

Uploaded by mihmoh on Aug 5, 2007

PROKOFIEV - Romeo and Juliet - Opéra National Paris - Nureyev - Ballet de l'Opera National de Paris - Monique Loudières - Manuel Legris

 

Profiling approach for identification of potential suicidal behavior

Profiling approach for identification of potential suicidal behavior

(instead of "risk factors")

the same or similar way FBI profiles criminal behaviors

(Morally, in most religions, especially in the Abrahamic ones, it is considered a very serious violation: "you are the slave of God and He only can take your life from you, because it was Him, who granted it to you"; and also on the books in many jurisdictions, still.)


- history of previous suicidal attempts
- history of self-injurious behavior

- Externalised - Internalised Aggression Scale and Index: EA/IA = 1 (+ - 0.5)

- signs of anxiety and depression
- changes in overt behavior

- Socialisation styles: loner or family problems

- Personality styles and vulnerabilities

- "Real Life Problems": financial, family, others



References and Links

profiling - GS


Notes

Do we want just to improve the statistics to look better or do we want to address the problem "in-depth"? Or both? Of course both: one purpose does not exclude the other at all; it would be a "false dichotomy". But the statistics have to be truthful. They should be cleaned of "lies and damn lies" as much as possible, otherwise they mislead, which is dangerous epistemologically: the search for truthful and more or less "scientific" explanations has to be based on "clean" and adequately collected factual and data sets.

Seriously consider and explore the possibilities and advantages of Dance Therapy - GS

Some preliminary conclusions on research into the "psychiatric epidemic" of suicide in the miltary 2000 - 2012

Some preliminary conclusions on research into the "psychiatric epidemic" of suicide in the military 2000 - 2012

The true picture, including the epidemiological one, in the area of suicides in the military and the true state of affairs in the military mental health field is not known to us yet. The deaths suspicious of suicide and the incidents of self-injurious behavior, as well as homicides and other relevant occurrences should be included into the statistics. The sophisticated data collection system needs to be established, socio - and psychometric instruments to be developed and used; theoretical models conceptualised and tested, etc. The riddle might not be solved to provide more or less satisfactory causal explanation for some time, if at all; in the end, all attempts at the explanation are just interpretational hypotheses, due to the specifics of the subject matter: suicide, and the mental health field. Regardless of all the possible hypothetical explanations (which do have to be developed and tested), the general sociotherapeutic sanation measures, including the changes in the military subculture, if needed, should be implemented and continuously improved and refined, with the aim of improving, making more healthy and humane and maximally consistent with the values and norms of larger, mainstream culture, the general emotional climate in military communities and units, and providing the range of various relevant services. This approach might be just as, if not more productive, than the specific "suicide prevention measures", which can continue to stay in place.

Military Psychiatry and Psychology Review

Military Psychiatry and Psychology Review

Suicidology Review: Durkheim, Typology of Suicides

Military Suicidology Review

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Topics Review:

Unit Cohesion

Individual and Groups

Military Groups

Structure and Function of Hierarchies
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Protective and destructive effects of groups | Typology of Suicides | Suicidal Behaviors as an Escape and Emotional and Social Protest

Protective and destructive effects of groups - GS

The sociological hypothesis of military suicides causation as a destructive effect of a military group (1): a conflict between an individual soldier and his group, his military unit; does not contradict the Durkheim hypothesis of protective effect of groups, as the authors try to prove, but confirms it as a more general paradigm. The authors of this interesting and valuable paper base their thinking on Durkheim's theory and try to disprove it in a particular case of suicides in the military "from within": by operating this theory's own postulates and general conceptual framework (a "paradigm"). This reminds a proverbial "fight with your own shadow". The whole Durkheim's typology of suicides and its value and utility, especially for clinical purposes, should be questioned. It is not used in practical clinical settings. It seems to me that the the simple division of suicides into psychotic and nonpsychotic might be introduced (whatever these terms mean). Suicides in the military are mostly nonpsychotic. They should be divided further, according to the relative preponderance of causative factors into:
- Situational:
caused mostly by external circumstances and as an escape from them.
- Emotional:
due to severe and continuous stresses of various kinds, when the capacity for psychological resilience is stretched to a limit, to a "breaking point". Suicide thus, paradoxically, saves the psyche's integrity, protects the"immortal soul" from its destruction by pain and demoralisation.
- As a form of a conscientious social (and/or political) protest
The latter two are interconnected and practically are the same, since they have both components.
The circumstances of various kinds are also almost always present. Therefore we can try to conceptualise various forms of suicidal behaviors as an Escape and as an Emotional and Social Protest.
Therapeutic intervention should be attempted in all three dimensions and geared specifically to them. For example, a soldier with suicidal thoughts, if they are in any way detected or suspected, might be helped with his/her bank loan, offered individual or family therapy for his/her personal and/or family problems and offered to attend an educational group if he/she does not agree with certain policies or attitudes; overtly or covertly, with the understanding that his/her disagreements or grievances will be heard and their input in resolution of the general issues like these will be appreciated.
The interventions should be attempted at earlier stages, when it did not come to suicidal thoughts yet, and should be of general, mass and routine nature. In other words this is an issue of general and preventive sanation of emotional climate in a military unit or community, including the attitudes, policies and relationships.
Due to centralised structure of military services, the TeleTherapy option with centrally managed referral, recordkeeping, sophisticated data collections and training and and research departments might be the most beneficial option.

References and Links

1 - Suicide, Social Integration, and Masculinity in the US Military ...

emory.academia.edu/.../Suicide_Social_Integration_and_Masculinity...Cached

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Notes

Individual and Groups

Military Groups

Structure and Function of Hierarchies

Durkheim

Typology of Suicides

The Vulnerability of Desire: Samson syndrome and other stories | Suicides in military history

The Vulnerability of Desire: Samson syndrome and other stories | Suicides in military history

 

The Samson Syndrome: What You Can Learn from the Baddest Boy in the Bible [Paperback]

 

Mark Atteberry (Author) 

 

Mark Atteberry (Author)

› Visit Amazon's Mark Atteberry Page

Find all the books, read about the author, and more.

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4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 2003

The story of Samson is the perfect vehicle to reveal the twelve tendencies that can bring down strong men: disregarding their boundaries, struggling with lust, ignoring good advice, overestimating their own cleverness, and others.
Written in a compassionate, funny, and practical style, The Samson Syndrome offers readers powerful ideas for making sure they use their greatest strengths to honor God in every situation.

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Desire - From Wikipedia

Concepts

• Desire (emotion), a sense of longing or hoping
• Desire (philosophy)
• Greed, one of the seven deadly sins, selfish pursuit of wealth, power, or possessions
• Interpersonal attraction
• Libido, sexual desire according to Freud and psychoanalysis
• Limerence, an involuntary state of intense romantic desire
• Lust, intense craving for self gratification
• Motivation, a thought that leads to an action
• Preference, a concept in the social sciences, particularly economics
• Taṇhā, craving in Buddhist psychology
• Want, in economics

 

Social psychology - From Wikipedia

Hadrian sexuality - GS

Shakespear sexuality - GS

Lincoln sexuality - GS

Reflections in a Golden Eye - GS

Stoicism on Desire - GS

Suicidal behaviors in military history: the claim to liberty and victory amidst defeat

Scholarly articles for Suicidal behaviors in military history

Monoamine metabolites in CSF and suicidal behavior - Traskman - Cited by 553 Aggression in humans correlates with cerebrospinal … - Brown - Cited by 839 The family history method using diagnostic criteria: … - Andreasen - Cited by 1493

Search Results

1. Largest Ever Study Of Suicide In The Military

   www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/157916.phpCached

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   18 Jul 2009 – Historically, the suicide rate has been lower in the military than among ... for research to address, suicidal behavior is a complex phenomenon.

 

 

Comments: This is a very important and valuable sociological paper on the subject:

Suicide, Social Integration, and Masculinity in the US Military ...

emory.academia.edu/.../Suicide_Social_Integration_and_Masculinity...Cached

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Nevertheless, the history of suicide within Western military populations provides ..... Understanding suicidal behavior in the military: an evaluation of Joiner's ... 

[PDF]
"These increases in military suicide rates have been striking, even given the notorious difficulties in determining accurate statistics for military suicide. First, suicides among military personnel are frequently misclassified as deaths from accidents or undetermined causes; such classification errors may lead military suicide totals to be as much as 21% higher than reported (Carr, Hoge, Gardner, & Potter,2004, p. 233)."

"These increases in military suicide rates have led a number of experts and commentators to refer to military suicide as a “hidden epidemic” (Sklar,2007). The origins of this epidemic have proven difficult to detect."

"Investigators of military suicide have been cautious about attributing this putative epidemic to a single cause (Stewart, 2009)."

"Finally, the military’s “warrior culture” has been thought to discourage soldiers from speaking openly about their psychological and emotional fragility (Alvarez, 2009;Dinges & Mueller, 2009). This inhibits the ability of mental health practitioners to recognize suicidal individuals and hinders the healing process necessary to overcome suicidal ideation and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Alvarez, 2009; Dinges & Mueller,2009). The lethality of all of these factors is significantly magnified by the ready access to firearms characteristic of military life (Mahon, Tobin, Cusack, Kelleher, & Malone, 2005; Martin,Ghahramanlou-Holloway, Lou, & Tucciarone, 2009)."

"Durkheim’s theory of the protective nature of social integration forms the foundation for what has become known as social capital theory..."

"Identity itself is rewritten through the “depersonalization and deindividuation in which the military, in the form of drills sergeants, must strip the individual of all previous self-definition” (Herbert, 1998, p. 9).

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Comments: One of the important factors might be general rigidity of military subculture, code of conduct, discipline and training which place a significantly stringent demands on individual capacity for integrating this image and social role of "ideal (or idealised) soldier" with complexities, paradoxes, contradictions and general "harmoniously chaotic" nature of individual emotional life and deep instinctual drives, with individual "Animula Vagula Blandula"; and more so if it is covered by a mask of omnipotent strength and toughness. One of my clinical observations is that suicides occur more often in those, in whom you relatively suspect and expect it the least, because 1) when you suspect it, you do something to prevent it and 2) the more rigid and inflexible is the mask, designed to convey the sense of invulnerability and health, the more vulnerable and fragile is its carrier and the more chances are there for the "breaking point".
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"Gender identity is central to the formation of social capital in the military. Even Stewart (1991, p. 89), whose study does not employ “gender” as a central analytic, describes the military as a “cult of masculinity”.  Melissa S.Herbert (1998, p. 7), in her study of female soldiers, notes that the masculine nature of military society has been so widely recognized that there is “little dispute” over the matter. She argues that the specificity of the military is that it is “structured along the lines of gender, not age, race, or physical fitness” (Herbert,1998,p.7). It is by emphasizing masculinity and rigidly separating the male from the female that the military creates social capital from a group of soldiers whose economic statuses, ethnicities, and ideologies might otherwise place them in conflict with one another (Herbert, 1998; Stewart, 1991). Masculine unity thus forms the “cementing principle” of military life (Harrison, 2003, p. 75)."

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Comments: Generally speaking military mentality might be viewed as the expression of the need (and necessity) for masculine (male) control and domination. Hence the historical phenomenon of mass rapes (including the less frequent in recent times, but probably quite wide spread in the past occurrences of male rapes [as a substitute for killing]; turning the defeated male enemy into a woman, both symbolically and to a certain degree in a real sense; thus neutralising and neutering this enemy's threat to the conqueror's own masculinity). Thus for those who viewed gays as "women in male bodies" (and therefore as the potential objects of psychosexual domination and rape), the destruction and deprivation of this institutional notion and image constitute a blow to their own idealised self-image and a social role as dominant heterosexual male warriors and might lead towards unraveling of the deep intrapsychic conflict, especially if the elements of latent homosexuality are present.
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"As Whitworth (2008,p.119) notes “recent studies in the USA indicate that between 43 and 60 percent of female enlisted personnel experience some form of physical or sexual harassment or violence”. This physical and sexual abuse attests to the exclusion of women within the military."

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Comments: These statistics are truly shocking and feel almost inconceivable. Is it not an indication that something, at some level is deeply wrong with the subculture and prevailing attitudes, and the need for change is ripe?
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 "As a result of their exclusion, women in the military may be more prone to externalize their frustration via homicide, rather than internalizing it (as do men) via suicide."

"Tapering the effect of masculine fatalism on suicidal behavior will thus entail addressing military culture directly."

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Comments: Apparently, the maximal approximation of military subculture to the norms, values and attitudes of the mainstream culture of the great country would the most healthy, productive and promising approach.
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Research Efforts Toward Reducing Suicide Behavior Among Military ...

www.health.mil/.../DoD_VA%20Conf%20Suicide%20Brief_1-6-...

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Reducing Suicide Behavior. Among Military Servicemembers and Veterans. U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. Military Operational Medicine ...

1. [PDF]
   

   Strategic Direction for the Prevention of Suicidal Behavior

   www.cdc.gov/.../pdf/suicide_strategic_direction_full_version-a.pdf

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   Prevention's (CDC) work to prevent fatal and nonfatal suicidal behavior. ..... and active or retired military personnel.2 ... turation, and disconnection from history ...

Marcus Antonius and Cleopathra - GS


ANCIENT ROME

Military Psychology Links

Military Psychology Links

 

Gustave Le Bon - From Wikipedia

 

 Gustave Le Bon was a French social psychologist whose seminal study, The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind (1896) led to the development of group psychology.

 

 

Crowd psychology - from Wikipedia


Sigmund Freud: Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego

"What, then, is a ‘group’? How does it acquire the capacity for exercising such a decisive influence over the mental life of the individual? And what is the nature of the mental change which it forces upon the individual?
...


Adorno - Freudian Theory and the Pattern of Fascist Propaganda

(Theodor Adorno reprised Freud's essay in 1951 with his Freudian Theory and the Pattern of Fascist Propaganda, and said that "It is not an overstatement if we say that Freud, though he was hardly interested in the political phase of the problem, clearly foresaw the rise and nature of fascist mass movements in purely psychological categories."^{[7]  ) -} Social psychology - From Wikipedia

group psychology - GS

10 Rules That Govern Groups

Social psychology - From Wikipedia 

 

Group dynamics - From Wikipedia 

 

Scapegoating - From Wikipedia 

 

Wilhelm Wundt

Freud and the Institution of Psychoanalytic Knowledge - By Sarah Winter - Google Books

Freud all male institutions psychology - GS

Military Psychology - GS

Military psychology - From Wikipedia

 

Morale - From Wikipedia 

 

Collective identity - From Wikipedia 

 

 

Military Psychology,Second Edition: Clinical and Operational ...

1. www.amazon.com/Military-Psychology-Second.../dp/1462506496Cached
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3. Military Psychology,Second Edition: Clinical and Operational Applications [Carrie H. Kennedy,Eric A. Zillmer] on Amazon.com. *FREE* super saver shipping on ...
4. The Oxford Handbook of Military Psychology (Oxford Library of ...
5. www.amazon.com › ... › Psychology & CounselingCached

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   Janice H. Laurence, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Adult & Organizational Development, Temple University, and editor of the journal Military Psychology.
 

military suicide prevention training - GS 

 

 

Military Psychology: Clinical and Operational Applications - Google ...

books.google.com › Medical › Psychiatry › General

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During wartime, the need for mental health professionals intensifies, and the role they play is increasingly important. This comprehensive professional reference ...

 

 

 One Year Out: An Assessment of DADT Repeal’s Impact on Military Readiness

 

 

NYT Editorial - A Military Success Story - September 15, 2012 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Structured mental health assessments

Structured mental health assessments

structured psychiatric assessment - GS

Psychiatric assessment - From Wikipedia

 

Beck Depression Inventory - From Wikipedia 

 

List of diagnostic classification and rating scales used in psychiatry - From Wikipedia

 

 

Psychometric Assessment of Suicidal Risk: Suicidal Ideation Self-Report Scale

 Psychometric Assessment of Suicidal Risk

 

Suicidal Ideation Self-Report Scale 

0 - Disagree, not at all
Agree:
1 - A little
2 - Definitely
3 - Strongly, very much


Overt Suicidal Ideation Items:

• Others will be better off without me
• Sometimes the death is the best solution for all problems
• Sometimes you have to die to prove your point
• To die is the sign of strength, not weakness
• I have thoughts about killing myself almost every day
• This life is not worth living
• I have nothing to live for
• I did try to kill myself in the past
• There is no hope for me
• They will be sorry when I die
• They will learn that they were wrong when I die
• I can prove them wrong only by killing myself
• Death is the only way out
• I think about death a lot
• I think about killing myself almost every day
• I do have a plan to kill myself
• I want to kill myself and I know how to do it

Projected Suicidal Ideation Items:

• When people are useless to others they do not deserve to live

Depression Items:

• I feel sad, blue, down in the dumps all the time
• I have problems with my sleep
• I do not feel rested and refreshed in the morning after a night sleep
• Some nights I wake up early in the morning and cannot go back to sleep
• It is difficult for me to fall asleep
• Lately I do not have much of an appetite and do not eat as much as I used to
• Lately I feel increased need for food and I overeat
• I feel tired all the time
• I do not have much energy to do things
• I do not enjoy sex as much as before
• Nothing brings me joy
• I do not really enjoy much of anything lately
• I feel trapped
• Sometimes I feel that I want to harm myself
• Sometimes I feel that I want to harm others
• I feel very angry almost every day
• Others have to be punished for their wrong deeds and words
• Sometimes I feel tense and tearful without a particular reason
• Lately I am not able to remember things as easily as before
• Sometimes it is difficult for me to keep track of things and to concentrate on work or tasks
• Lately it is difficult for me to make decisions
• I know that I am not worth much
• Lately I feel very guilty about many different things I did in the past

Latent Psychoticism Items:

• Sometimes I hear someone talking when no one is around me
• I believe that someone wants to harm me
• I have to be on my guard all the time
• I have to watch my ass all the time
• They will always try to harm you if you let them
• Someone plays games with me

Risk Taking Items:

• I do quite risky things lately
• Lately I fight with others verbally or physically more than before
• Lately I do things that harm or could harm me

Social Withdrawal and Isolation Items

• I do not feel like talking much with anyone
• I do not feel like seeing anyone much
• I do not have any friends
• I do not need any friends
• My family does not understand me
• I do not feel like seeing my family or my friends as much as before
• I do not need anyone
• I do not need any friends
• People do not understand me
• I do not fit in
• If I cannot shape up I have to ship out

Substance Abuse Items:

• Lately I drink alcohol more than usually
• I do drugs more often than I should

Latent Homosexual Ideation Items:

• Faggots and sissies are all around me
• They want to turn me into a homosexual
• I think that it is wrong to let gays to serve in the military
• Men who have sex with men are like animals
• Men who have sex with men will burn in hell
• Male bodies do not interest or excite me at all
• Female bodies do not interest or excite me at all
• I hate gays
• Gays are our main problem these days
• If not for gays life would be much better everywhere
• I believe that homosexuality is a sin
• Gays ought to be killed
• Gays belong in prisons
• If I feel sexually excited by people of the same sex, it means that devil plays games with me

 



© Copyright 2012 Michael Novakhov, M.D. and NISBS
 

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Review of existing instruments

Psychometric Assessment of Suicidal Risk - Google Search


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page 1 of 3

  Scale of Suicidal Ideation

Original references: Beck AT Kovacs M Weissman A. Assessment of suicidal intention: The scale of suicide ideation. J Consult Clin Psychology. 1979; 47: 343-352. Beck AT Steer RA Rantieri WF. Scale for suicide ideation: Psychometric properties of a self-report version. J Clin Psychology. 1988; 44: 499-505. The scale of suicidal ideation consists of 19 items, scored 0 to 2, which can be used to evaluate a patient's suicidal intentions. It can also be used to monitor a patient's response to interventions over time.

Item	Response	Points
1. Wish to live	moderate to strong	0
	weak	1
	none	2
2. Wish to die	none	0
	weak	1
	moderate to strong	2
3. Reasons for living/dying	for living outweigh for dying	0
	about equal	1
	for dying outweigh for living	2
4. Desire to make active suicide attempt	none	0
	weak	1
	moderate to strong	2
5. Passive suicidal desire	would take precautions to save life	0
	would leave life/death to chance	1
	would avoid steps necessary to save or maintain life	2
6. Duration of suicide ideation/wish	brief fleeting periods	0
	longer periods	1
	continuous (chronic) or almost continuous	2
7. Frequency of suicide ideation	rare occasional	0
	intermittent	1
	persistent or continuous	2
8. Attitude toward ideation/wish	rejecting	0
	ambivalent indifferent	1
	accepting	2

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obtained from http://www.psy-world.com

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page 2 of 3

 

Scale of Suicidal Ideation

Item	Response	Points
9. Control over suicidal action/acting-out wish	has sense of control	0
	unsure of control	1
	has no sense of control	2
10. Deterrents to active attempt	would not attempt because of a deterrent	0
	some concern about deterrents	1
	minimal or no concern about deterrents	2
11. Reason for contemplated attempt	to manipulate the environment; get attention or revenge	0
	combination of desire to manipulate and to escape	1
	escape surcease solve problems	2
12. Method: specificity or planning of contemplated attempt	not considered	0
	considered but details not worked out	1
	details worked out and well-formulated	2
13. Method: availability or opportunity for contemplated attempt	method not available or no opportunity	0
	method would take time or effort; opportunity not readily available	1
	method and opportunity available	2
	future opportunity or availability of method anticipated	2
14. Sense of "capability" to carry out attempt	no courage too weak afraid incompetent	0
	unsure of courage or competence	1
	sure of competence courage	2
15. Expectancy/anticipation of actual attempt	no	0
	uncertain not sure	1
	yes	2
16. Actual preparation for contemplated attempt	none	0
	partial	1
	complete	2

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obtained from http://www.psy-world.com

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page 3 of 3

 
Scale of Suicidal Ideation

Item	Response	Points
17. Suicide note	none	0
	started but not completed; only thought about	1
	completed	2
18. Final acts in anticipation of death	none	0
	thought about or made some arrangements	1
	made definite plans or completed arrangements	2
19. Deception or concealment of contemplated suicide	revealed ideas openly	0

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Scoring:The total score for the 19 items is calculated. Minimum score = 0 Maximum score = 38 Higher scores indicate greater suicidal ideation

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obtained from http://www.psy-world.com 

__________________________________________________