Deck 6: Suicide and Life-Threatening Behaviors

Question 1

Suicide refers to death caused by self-directed injurious behavior ______.

A) without other variables
B) with intention to die
C) that involves a weapon
D) that occurs spontaneously

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Kwame purchases a gun and plans to shoot himself in the head. He succeeds, but the bullet ricochets off his skull, leaving him in a coma. Which of the following terms applies?

A) attempted suicide
B) suicide
C) the suicide process
D) rational choice

Answer 2

A

Question 3

How is the suicide rate calculated?

A) the number of deaths attributed to suicide divided by the total number of deaths
B) the number of deaths caused by suicide divided by the total population
C) number of deaths identified as suicide per demographic category
D) number of deaths caused by suicide per 100,000 persons

Answer 3

D

Question 4

A city in California has a population of approximately 300,000. If there are 152 deaths attributed to suicide in Los Angeles, what is the suicide rate?

A) 3
B) 5
C) 8
D) 10

Question 5

When it comes to understanding patterns of suicide, it is important to remember that ______.

A) attempted suicide is counted in the official suicide rate
B) suicide is overreported
C) suicide has increased for most demographic categories
D) suicide is underreported

Question 6

When comparing suicide rates, ______.

A) the highest suicide rates are found in young adults aged 21-30
B) the lowest suicide rates are found in those over 65
C) the male suicide rate exceeds the female suicide rate
D) most suicides occur in high-income countries

Question 7

Age, race, and gender are all examples of the ______ level of increased risk for suicide.

A) individual
B) social structural positioning
C) demographic
D) life circumstances

Question 8

Which person below is most at risk for suicide?

A) Jerome, a teenager raised in a single-parent home
B) Lucia, a bisexual woman in her 30s who is married
C) Beverly, a young Black female who has never married
D) Tom, an older White male who recently went through a divorce

Question 9

When comparing men and women, ______.

A) men are more likely to attempt suicide than women
B) men are more likely to view suicide as an acceptable solution than women
C) women are more likely to attempt suicide than men
D) women are more likely to successfully commit suicide than men

Question 10

What is the single best predictor of a successful suicide?

A) a previous suicide attempt
B) depression combined with anxiety
C) keeping a gun in the house
D) writing suicide letters

Question 11

What is the relationship between mental illness and suicide?

A) A mental health diagnosis reduces the likelihood of attempting suicide.
B) Treating mood disorders with marijuana reduces suicide attempts.
C) Schizophrenics are less likely to kill themselves than people with no mental health issues.
D) People with one or more psychiatric symptoms account for most suicides.

Question 12

Which mental health issue most increases the risk of suicide?

A) manic-depressive
B) mood disorders
C) anxiety
D) schizophrenia

Question 13

Which of the following is a clear warning sign of suicide?

A) spending less time at work and more time with family
B) buying large life insurance policies
C) threatening to commit suicide
D) expressing a sudden interest in religion

Question 14

When it comes to suicide, ______.

A) it is rare for an individual to manifest all the warning signs
B) it is common for individuals to give no warning signs of their plans
C) preparing suicide letters is the most common warning sign
D) most people who attempt suicide showed no risk factors at all

Question 15

What is the common goal of suicide, according to psychologist Edwin Shneidman?

A) to seek a solution
B) cessation of consciousness
C) revenge
D) self-medication

Question 16

What is the common emotional element in suicide, according to psychologist Edwin Shneidman?

A) anomie
B) revenge
C) frustration-aggression
D) hopelessness-helplessness

Question 17

Ashley has withdrawn from her friends as she prepares to take her own life. Which step in the process of suicide does this illustrate?

A) experiencing a series of overwhelming problems
B) social isolation
C) problems are perceived as never ending
D) seeking a way to overcome social norms against suicide

Question 18

In the process that provides rationalization for suicide, ______ the suicidal person no longer feels responsible or guilty for the decision to end his or her own life.

A) once they have achieved complete social isolation
B) once the person rejects organized religion
C) once suicide becomes inevitable
D) once suicide has been attempted

Question 19

In the novel The Virgin Suicides, all five sisters commit suicide over the course of a few months. What does this illustrate?

A) mass cluster
B) point cluster
C) media cluster
D) genetic cluster

Question 20

There was an increase in the number of suicides following the suicide of singer Kurt Cobain. What does this illustrate?

A) mass cluster
B) point cluster
C) space-time cluster
D) domino cluster

Question 21

What is the best way to understand suicide notes?

A) as evidence of serious mental health issues
B) as a component of the suicide process
C) in the context of a suicidal act
D) as idiosyncratic deviance

Question 22

How do those who leave suicide notes compare to those who do not?

A) They are very similar.
B) They are very different.
C) Those who leave suicide notes typically use more lethal means than those who do not.
D) Those who leave suicide notes are more likely to have attempted suicide in the past.

Question 23

Which theories are based on the work of Emile Durkheim?

A) phenomenological theories
B) social conflict theories
C) microanalytic theories
D) social integration theories

Question 24

What is the primary focus of the phenomenological approach to understanding suicide?

A) the categorization of suicide into one of four categories
B) the meaning that an individual attaches to their behavior
C) distinguishing between suicide, attempted suicide, and murder-suicide
D) preventing suicide at the societal level

Question 25

Which of the following is considered an individual-level explanation of suicide?

A) the phenomenological approach
B) the social integration approach
C) anomie theory
D) the status integration approach

Question 26

If the self-injury does not involve the intention to die, then suicide/attempted suicide has not occurred.

Question 27

The intention to end one's life is the key component determining whether suicide has taken place.

Question 28

Worldwide, the female suicide rate exceeds the male suicide rate.

Question 29

Worldwide, depression is the best single predictor of suicidal death.

Question 30

When comparing suicide rates by social structural factors such as occupation, a teacher has a higher risk of suicide than a farmer.

Question 31

Both separation and divorce increase the risk of suicide.

Question 32

Those who attempt suicide tend to be older, White, males, who use less lethal methods.

Question 33

Those who suffer from mental illness do not have an increased risk for committing suicide.

Question 34

The combination of physical illness and psychiatric illness increases the risk of suicide.

Question 35

Having more than one mental illness increases the risk of suicide.

Question 36

Threatening suicide is not a predictor of attempting suicide.

Question 37

Social isolations make it easier to commit suicide.

Question 38

A "point cluster" is a relatively high number of suicides that occur soon after the broadcasting or publishing of an actual or fictional suicide.

Question 39

Suicide notes help researchers understand the underlying dynamics of suicide.

Question 40

Altruistic suicide occurs when a society is characterized by little social integration.

Question 41

What four additional risk factors add to the explanation of point cluster suicides?

Question 42

Distinguish between suicide contagion and suicide clusters.

Question 43

What instrumental goals motivate individuals to commit suicide by cop?

Question 44

Summarize Henry and Short's approach to understanding suicide.

Question 45

Explain why fatalistic suicide might occur more often in a dictatorship.

Question 46

Identify the steps that provide rationalization for suicide described by Jacobs.

Question 47

Summarize the patterns of homicide-suicide outlined by Stack.

Question 48

What characteristics are most common in cases of homicide followed by suicide?

Question 49

Distinguish between three macroanalytic approaches to explaining suicide.

Question 50

Distinguish between the categories of suicide identified by Emile Durkheim.