Association Between Suicidal Ideation and Exposure to Suicide in Social Relationships Among Family, Friend, and Acquaintance Survivors in South Korea

Abstract

Exposure to suicide in social relationships may be associated with suicidal ideation among survivors. In South Korea, which is known for having the highest suicide rate among OECD countries, exposure to suicide in social relationships can have serious consequences as social relationships are greatly emphasized in the society. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between survivors' suicidal ideation and their exposure to suicide in close relationships. Data collected through a telephone survey of a total of 1,000 men and women selected from across the nation using a stratified sampling method were analyzed. The results show that individuals who lost a family member, friend, or acquaintance in their lifetime are 4.5 times, 3.7 times, 2.2 times, respectively, more likely to have suicidal ideation in the past year compared to those without such experience. These findings suggest that special intervention for suicide survivors should be considered for those who experience suicide in close relationships.

Rorschach Assessment in Suicide Survivors: Focus on Suicidal Ideation

“…In line with our main hypothesis, we found a greater SI in patients bereaved through suicide when compared to control participants as assessed with Rorschach test according Exner's System, consistently with recent literature findings on the topic of SI in SSs (4, 5, 10–21, 37).…”

“…Recently, Campos et al (13) and Santos et al (19) found that, in a large European sample of SSs, being a strict relative of the suicided person, significantly contributed to the suicide risk. Similar results were found in Asian population: Song et al (37) found that individuals who lost a family member have in their lifetime 4.5 times more probability of SI, whereas if the victim was a friend or an acquaintance the SI probability was, respectively 3.7 times and 2.2 times that of people without such experience.…”

“…Scientific literature has already provided evidence in this direction (12, 13, 15, 18–21, 37), noting associations between levels of psychopathology and degree of kinship with the victim of suicide. Even in these cases, however, the survey was based on self-report measures or by means of interviews based on explicit questions, and never before with the use of a projective measure.…”

“…Our second hypothesis is that the expected greater SI in SSs participants, depends on the kinship with the deceased person, in terms of increasing SI if the victim is a child or a parent. The literature has already provided some elements to support the hypothesis that strict relatives bereaved by suicide may be at particular risk for suicide themselves (12, 13, 15, 18–21, 37).…”

The Impact of Referral to Mental Health Services on Suicide Death Risk in Adolescent Suicide Survivors

“…In this context, it is important to also attend to "suicide survivors"-people who had close social relationships with the suicide victim. Globally, the concept of suicide survivors is widely used to refer to people who experienced the loss of someone close due to suicide -those who have been involuntarily exposed to suicide through the death of a relative, friend, colleague, or neighbor [2,3]. In a broad sense, suicide survivors include all individuals exposed to the suicide of another, but the narrower meaning is usually restricted to close relationships such as family, friends, and neighbors [4].…”