Three hundred fifty-three women (median age = 32 years) admitted to the emergency rooms of nine general hospitals serving rural areas in China were interviewed for nonfatal suicidal behavior. Spousal conflict was the most commonly reported cause for their suicidal behavior and one third of respondents reported being victims of physical abuse by…

Data from a community-based multi-wave investigation were used to examine a developmental model of risk for depression and suicidality following the death of a spouse. Measures of perceived parental affection and control during childhood were administered to 218 widowed adults 11 months after the death of the spouse. Self-esteem, spousal…

Describes the specific conflicts which suicidal women experience in their intimate relationships with men. Four major themes were found in the relationships: "smothering love", infidelity, battering, and denial of affection. Examples of the four themes are described and analyzed. (Author/BL)

People who kill others rarely kill themselves afterwards. When they do, they are more likely to have killed someone with whom they were intimate. Two broad types of suicidal killers have been identified in research that presumes varying degrees of premeditation. Using data on over 700 intimate femicides, the role of premeditation in cases of…

Examined social supports and bereavement of spouses of elderly suicide and natural deaths. Suicide survivors received significantly less emotional support for their feelings of depression and grief than natural death survivors, and they did not confide in persons in their network any more than nonbereaved controls did. Women reported receiving…

Presents two cases chosen to draw attention to marital and developmental dynamics of suicidal behavior. Both case vignettes are based on individual interviews with suicidal persons and their spouses during the suicidal person's psychiatric hospitalization, and both include observations of the marital interaction. Case vignettes are followed by…

Examined retrospective data on homicide-suicide in Australia to determine what differentiates homicides between adult sexual intimates that include suicide of offender from those that do not. Found that, if offender was male, estranged from partner, and used gun to kill more than one victim, or was older with ailing wife, he was more apt to also…

Examined the impact of completed suicide on the surviving family, comparing widows (N=13) whose husbands had died through suicide to widows (N=13) whose husbands had died in accidents. Found suicide survivors showed no more family dysfunction, life stress, or psychiatric symptomatology than accident survivors. (Author/ABL)

Explored relationship between participation of married women in labor force and suicide and homicide rates in United States. Found women's labor force participation related to homicide rates, with homicide rates higher in states where greater percentage of married women worked full-time. Suicide rates were more strongly related to indices of…

Chronic dysfunction after complicated grief is not rare and emphasizes the need to identify bereaved individuals at risk. Three months following bereavement, self-reported psychiatric and general health of 153 relatives of 74 suicides was worse than of 70 relatives of 39 natural deaths. Moreover, the felt need for professional help was higher…

Research suggests that wife abuse may be significant precipitant of female suicide. Case studies and data from several societies suggest that if a woman's support group does not defend her when she is victimized, suicide may be form of revenge. Research focused on relationship between domestic violence and female suicide should be priority for…

Single suicides and married suicides with dependent children were compared to similar groups in the general population. Married people with dependent children experienced the lowest average suicide rate, but had a larger mean number of children than the population as a whole. (Author)

Investigated individual and interpersonal dynamics of 21 suicidal persons and their partners during suicidal person's psychiatric hospitalization following episode of suicidal behavior or serious suicidal ideation. Found dynamics of couples characterized by complementarity at level of overt individual functioning and similarity at level of covert…

Evaluates the effects of two group interventions, the Bereavement Group Postvention and the Social Group Postvention, on bereavement outcomes in widowed survivors of suicide. The goals were to determine if group interventions would significantly decrease levels of depression, psychological distress, and grief, as well as significantly increase…

Compared bereavement experiences of surviving spouses of suicides (N=14) with those of other surviving spouses (N=43). Focused on grief reactions suggested to be unique to suicide bereavement and quality of grief resolution. Found no significant differences among survivors on frequencies of common grief reactions, but suicide survivors were…