Suicide

VII. Read the text and find out the reasons for suicide for different age groups.

VI. Choose the word that has the same meaning as the word at the left.

1. to affect A) to include

B) to influence

C) to improve

2. to happen A) to occur

B) to accept

C) to take part

3. to try A) to cry

B) to attempt

C) to triple

4. probability A) variety

B) likelihood

C) ability

5. exact A) accurate

B) particular

C) acute

Suicide is intentional, self-inflicted death. A uniquely human act, suicide occurs in all cultures. People who attempt or complete suicide usually suffer from extreme emotional pain and distress and feel unable to cope with their problems. They are likely to suffer from mental illness, particularly severe depression, and to feel hopeless about the future.

In the United States, suicide ranks in the top ten causes of death, accounting for about 1.5 percent of all deaths. The annual number of suicides has averaged about 30,000 since the late 1980s and has consistently exceeded the annual number of homicides. The suicide rate (number of suicide deaths per 100,000 people) in the United States has remained relatively stable since the 1950s, ranging between 10 and 13 per 100,000 each year.

The suicide rate varies by age group. Of all age groups, the elderly have the highest suicide rates, particularly white men over the age of 75. The increased rate of suicide among elderly people appears mostly due to the debilitating effects of physical illness, loss of social roles and relationships, and untreated depression. Suicide rates for people between the ages of 15 and 24 tripled between 1950 and 1993. The reasons for this increase are not entirely clear, but researchers have associated it with a greater prevalence of mental illness in young people, an increased use of drugs in this population, and the increased availability of firearms in the home.

Suicide rates also vary between men and women and between ethnic groups. Men complete about 80 percent of all suicides. However, women attempt suicide three times as frequently as men. Among men, Native Americans have the highest suicide rate, followed by whites. White men and women account for about 90 percent of all suicides.

Canada’s suicide rate has historically been similar to or slightly higher than that of the United States. About 3800 suicides are recorded in Canada each year. Countries with the highest suicide rates include Latvia (42.5 suicides per 100,000 people), Lithuania (42.1), Estonia (38.2), Russia (37.8), and Hungary (35.9). Countries with the lowest suicide rates include Guatemala (0.5), the Philippines (0.5), Albania (1.4), the Dominican Republic (2.1), and Armenia (2.3). However, an accurate comparison of suicide rates among countries is difficult because of the unreliability of official suicide statistics and varying methods of certifying how deaths occurred.

Because depression precedes most suicides, early recognition of depression and treatment through medication and psychotherapy are important ways of preventing suicide (see Depression: Treatment). In general, suicide prevention efforts aim to identify people with the highest risk of suicide and to intervene before these individuals become suicidal.

Certain aspects of a person’s life increase the likelihood that the person will attempt or complete suicide. Studies have shown that one of the best predictors of suicidal intent is hopelessness. People with a sense of hopelessness may come to perceive suicide as the only alternative to a pained existence. People with mental illnesses, substance-abuse disorders such as alcoholism or drug dependence, and behavioral disorders also have a higher risk of suicide. In fact, people suffering from diagnosable mental illnesses complete about 90 percent of all suicides. Physical illness also increases a person’s risk of suicide, especially when the illness is accompanied by depression. About one-third of adult suicide victims suffered from a physical illness at the time of their death.

Other risk factors include previous suicide attempts, a history of suicide among family members, and social isolation. People who live alone or lack close friends may not receive emotional support that would otherwise protect them from despair and irrational thinking during difficult periods of life.

About 80 percent of people who complete suicide give warning signs, although the warnings may not be overt or obvious. These usually take the form of talking about suicide or a wish to die; statements about hopelessness, helplessness, or worthlessness; preoccupation with death; and references to suicide in drawings, school essays, poems, or notes. Other danger signs include sudden, dramatic, and unexplained changes in behavior and what are called “termination behaviors.” These behaviors include an interest in putting personal affairs in order and giving away prized possessions, often accompanied by statements of sadness or despair.

A person who observes these signs should ask the person in question whether he or she is thinking of suicide. If so, the observer should refer the person to a trained mental health professional to reduce the immediate risk of suicide and to treat the problems that led the person to consider suicide. Most suicides can be prevented because the suicidal state of mind is usually temporary.

In the United States, mental health professionals established the first major suicide-prevention telephone hotlines in the 1950s. Counselors or trained volunteers usually staff the hotlines around the clock. The staff members provide a listening ear to those in despair and tell callers where they can go to receive professional help. Although hotlines provide a valuable service to people in crisis, research has shown that hotlines help only those that call. Young women call more frequently than do men, who have a greater risk of suicide.

An increasing number of schools have suicide-prevention programs that train students, teachers, and school staff to recognize warning signs and tell them where to refer students at risk of suicide. These relatively new programs have not yet demonstrated their effectiveness at preventing youth suicide.

Another prevention method involves restricting access to means of killing oneself. Barriers that prevent people from jumping off bridges, for example, and restrictions on access to firearms have shown some effectiveness in reducing suicides. Such methods introduce a delay during which suicidal feelings and decisions may change or rescuers can physically intervene.

VIII. Fill in the gaps with the proper word to complete the sentence:

1. Suicide is a … uniquely human act. 2. Those who complete suicide are likely to … from mental illness. 3. The suicide rate … by age group. 4. Usually depression … most suicides. 5. Certain aspects of a person’s life … the likelihood of committing suicide. 6. Suicide prevention efforts aim to … people with the highest risk of suicide. 7. … is one of the best predictors of suicidal intent. 8. In about 80 percent of suicidal cases … signs are given by people who complete suicide. 9. Since the suicidal state of mind is usually … most suicides can be prevented. 10. One of the prevention methods involves … access to means of killing oneself.

IX. Correct the following statements:

1. The suicide rate is the number of suicide deaths per 1,000 people.

2. Suicide occurs only in some cultures.

3. Of all age groups, young women have the highest suicide rates.

4. Men attempt about 80 percent of all suicides.

5. Countries with the highest suicide rates include Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Armenia, Russia.

6. Official suicide statistics are very accurate.

7. Young women have a greater risk of suicide.

8. School suicide-prevention programs are considered to be very effective.

X. Answer the following questions:

1. What people are likely to attempt or complete suicide?

2. What are important ways of preventing suicide?

3. What aspects of person’s life can increase the likelihood of attempting or completing suicide?

4. What warning signs are given by people who complete suicide?

5. What is the major function of suicide-prevention telephone hotlines?

Дата добавления: 2014-12-27