AAS Foundations of Suicidology 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In the stress-diathesis model of suicide, 'diathesis' refers to:
- An acute environmental stressor that triggers suicidal behavior
- A predisposing biological or psychological vulnerability (Correct answer)
- A history of childhood trauma
- Chronic substance use disorder
Correct answer: A predisposing biological or psychological vulnerability
In the stress-diathesis model, diathesis is a pre-existing vulnerability (genetic, neurobiological, or psychological) that interacts with stressors to increase suicide risk.
Question 2: Which neurotransmitter system has been most consistently implicated in suicidal behavior through postmortem brain studies?
- Dopaminergic system
- Serotonergic system (Correct answer)
- Cholinergic system
- GABAergic system
Correct answer: Serotonergic system
Postmortem studies have consistently found abnormalities in serotonin (5-HT) metabolism and receptor binding in individuals who died by suicide.
Question 3: The 'cry for help' conceptualization of suicidal behavior is criticized primarily because it:
- Overestimates the lethality of all attempts
- Minimizes genuine intent and may reduce clinical seriousness (Correct answer)
- Assumes all suicidal individuals are depressed
- Ignores the role of social support
Correct answer: Minimizes genuine intent and may reduce clinical seriousness
Framing suicide attempts solely as 'cries for help' can minimize the seriousness of suicidal intent and lead to under-treatment.
Question 4: Which of the following best describes 'suicidal ambivalence'?
- Uncertainty about the method to use
- Simultaneously wanting to die and wanting to live (Correct answer)
- Alternating between passive and active ideation
- Conflicting beliefs about the morality of suicide
Correct answer: Simultaneously wanting to die and wanting to live
Suicidal ambivalence describes the coexistence of a wish to die and a wish to live, which is a common and clinically important phenomenon.
Question 5: A 'psychological autopsy' is a method used to:
- Perform forensic toxicology on suicide victims
- Retrospectively reconstruct the mental state of a person who died by suicide (Correct answer)
- Evaluate the effectiveness of psychiatric medications post-death
- Identify genetic risk factors through family interviews
Correct answer: Retrospectively reconstruct the mental state of a person who died by suicide
A psychological autopsy involves gathering information from records, interviews, and documents to reconstruct the decedent's psychological state prior to death.
Question 6: The Papageno effect in suicide prevention refers to:
- Increased suicide risk following media celebrity deaths
- Protective effects of stories showing suicidal crises resolved without suicide (Correct answer)
- Clustering of suicides in geographic areas
- Reduced stigma from anti-suicide public campaigns
Correct answer: Protective effects of stories showing suicidal crises resolved without suicide
The Papageno effect describes how media stories of individuals overcoming suicidal crises can have a protective, life-affirming influence on at-risk audiences.
Question 7: Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was originally developed specifically for which population?
- Veterans with PTSD and suicidal ideation
- Chronically suicidal individuals with borderline personality disorder (Correct answer)
- Adolescents with depression and self-harm
- Older adults with treatment-resistant depression
Correct answer: Chronically suicidal individuals with borderline personality disorder
Marsha Linehan developed DBT specifically to treat chronically suicidal women with borderline personality disorder.
AAS Foundations of Suicidology 4
In the stress-diathesis model of suicide, 'diathesis' refers to: