Attitudes towards those bereaved by a suicide: a population-based, cross-sectional study in rural Japan

What determines supportive behaviors following bereavement? A systematic review and call to action

Very few factors that impact the grieving process can be modified after the fact to the extent that social support can. However, social support has received limited research attention, resulting in little conceptual understanding of the mechanisms behind perceptions of, and intentions to support, grieving persons. This systematic review aimed to explore bereaved, decedent, and respondent-related determinants of the provision of social support. The review yielded 42 studies impacted by various methodological and sampling limitations. This review poses a call to the field for more rigorous study of social support determinants to better assist the bereaved and their natural supporters.

Views on suicide among middle-aged and elderly populations in Japan: their association with demographic variables and feeling shame in seeking help

AIMS

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between inappropriate views on suicide, such as it being a personal choice, inevitable, unpreventable, and permissible, with demographic variables and the feeling of shame in seeking help among the general population.

METHODS

A self-administered questionnaire on mental health and suicide was distributed to all residents aged 40-74 in four areas in Oita Prefecture, Japan, and 4487 responded. The association of seven inappropriate views on suicide with demographic variables was examined by multiple logistic analyses. The association between feeling shame in seeking help with demographic variables and the above views on suicide was similarly analyzed.

RESULTS

Inappropriate views on suicide were associated with gender (i.e. men). Some of these views also correlated with age, never having been married, and living in rural areas or areas with high suicide mortality rates. Multivariate analysis revealed that feeling shame in seeking help when distressed was associated with being aged 70-74, living in rural areas or areas with high suicide mortality rates, the view on suicide as a matter of self-choice, and a pessimistic view toward life.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that inappropriate views on suicide adversely affect coping strategies and mental health. Suicide prevention programs aimed at improving mental health literacy in a community should take into consideration the characteristics of elderly male residents.

Social injury: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of the attitudes towards suicide of lay persons in Ghana

One way of furthering our understanding of suicidal behaviour is to examine people's attitudes towards it and how they conceive the act. The aim of this study was to understand how lay persons conceive the impact of suicide on others and how that influences their attitudes towards suicide; and discuss the implications for suicide prevention in Ghana. This is a qualitative study, using a semi-structured interview guide to investigate the attitudes and views of 27 lay persons from urban and rural settings in Ghana. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings showed that the perceived breach of interrelatedness between people due to suicidal behaviour influenced the informants' view of suicide as representing a social injury. Such view of suicide influenced the negative attitudes the informants expressed towards the act. The negative attitudes towards suicide in Ghana are cast in consequential terms. Thus, suicide is an immoral act because it socially affects others negatively. The sense of community within the African ethos and The Moral Causal Ontology for Suffering are theoretical postulations that are used to offer some explanations of the findings in this study.

The meanings of suicidal behaviour to psychology students in Ghana: a qualitative approach

The objective of this study was to examine psychology students' attitudes toward suicidal behaviour and the meanings they assign to the act. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 final year psychology students at a university in Ghana. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyze the data. The results indicated that the students had a generalized negative attitude toward suicide. Religious beliefs and family harmony are cultural contexts influencing the interpretation of suicidal behaviour as breach of divine and communal moralities. The implications of these meanings of suicidal behaviour for suicide prevention in Ghana are discussed.