Understanding Abnormal Behavior 10th

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Chapter 9: Suicide

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. A 90-year-old woman kills herself rather than continue suffering with terminal bone cancer. A
teenager commits suicide when his girlfriend breaks up with him and his parents are unconcerned. A
religious fanatic kills himself to protest religious persecution. These examples of suicide suggest that
____.
a. suicide cannot be studied in a scientific manner
b. all suicide stems from mental disorder
c. there are many different reasons for suicide
d. suicide is basically a sociological phenomenon

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: Introduction OBJ: 1

MSC: Conceptual

2. Suicide should be discussed separately from depression because ____.

a. there is little correlation between depression and suicide
b. the cause of suicide is biological, while the cause of depression is environmental
c. there are many causes of suicide, and it may represent a separate clinical entity
d. suicide is more related to schizophrenia than to depression

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: Introduction OBJ: 1

MSC: Factual

3. Dr. Sharma says, "Suicide does not deserve to be studied separate and apart from depression because it
is not a major cause of death in the United States. Also, we are at a point in time when there is
decreased openness to talking about issues of death and dying, the meaning of suicide, and the right to
take one's own life. Moreover, suicide is not classified in DSM-IV-TR because most suicidal persons
do not exhibit psychiatric symptoms." Which part of Dr. Sharma's statement is accurate?
a. Suicide is not classified in DSM-IV-TR.
b. Most suicidal persons do not exhibit psychiatric symptoms
c. Suicide does not deserve to be studied separate and apart from depression because it is not
a major cause of death in the United States.
d. We are at a point in time when there is decreased openness to talking about issues of death
and dying, the meaning of suicide, and the right to take one's own life.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Introduction OBJ: 1

MSC: Applied
4. Dr. Elmer is interviewing the friends, family, and therapist of a person who committed suicide so that
she can better understand the reasons for suicide. This assessment is ____.
a. called a medical autopsy
b. called a psychological autopsy
c. relatively easy to do because it involves direct evidence
d. based on the biological approach to mental disorders

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Applied

5. ____ is patterned after a medical procedure and is a systematic attempt to understand the reasons for a
person's suicide or homicide through case history analysis and interviews with family and friends.
a. Psychological autopsy c. Anomic assessment
b. Terminal probe d. Postmortem analysis

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Factual

6. Which of the following is a problem associated with studying people who survive their suicide
attempts for clues to understanding the reasons that a person commits suicide?
a. Attempters are more likely to be adolescents.
b. Attempters are more likely to have good skills in conflict resolution.
c. People who succeed in ending their lives most likely died of a drug overdose.
d. People who survive suicide attempts differ from those who are successful in their attempt.

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Factual

7. Which of the following is among the ten common characteristics of suicide?

a. Most people who end their own lives have clearly decided that they no longer want to live.
b. A common emotions in suicide is apathy.
c. Only a small minority of those who are successful in their suicide attempts have given
some indication of their intentions.
d. Suicide is a way to end intolerable psychological pain.

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Factual
 8. Professor Salazar is talking to his class about suicide among young people. He tells them,
"Approximately 34,000 people kill themselves each year in the United States. Over the past ten years,
suicides for young people aged 15 to 24 increased 20 percent for males and 42 percent for females. In
2007, suicide was the leading cause of death for young people aged 10 to 24 years old. Recent research
also indicates that suicide rates are much higher for college students than for their peers who don't
attend college." Which part of Professor Salazar's statement is accurate?
a. Recent research indicates that suicide rates are much higher for college students than for
their peers who don't attend college.
b. Over the past ten years, suicides for young people aged 15 to 24 increased 20 percent for
males and 42 percent for females.
c. In 2007, suicide was the leading cause of death for young people aged 10 to 24
d. Approximately 34,000 people kill themselves each year in the United States.

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Applied

9. "Suicidal ideation" refers to ____.

a. plot lines used by novelists when writing about people who kill themselves
b. ideas about ways to convince others to commit suicide
c. thoughts about suicide
d. explanations of why people commit suicide

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Factual

10. One of the most common purposes of suicide is ____.

a. to seek a solution to an unsolvable problem
b. to get even with other people
c. to make other people remember the person who committed suicide
d. to achieve a higher state of existence

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Factual

11. Rachel is studying suicide. She is surprised to learn that historically, people avoided talking about
suicide because of ____.
a. the shame and stigma involved in taking one's life
b. the pain of losing a loved one
c. the lack of available statistics to make a discussion meaningful
d. the aura of honor bestowed on people who take their own lives

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Applied
12. Renowned psychologist Bruno Bettleheim ended his life with a lethal injection. He did so, at least in
part, because ____.
a. he was in intolerable, unremitting pain
b. he was suffering from a terminal illness
c. he did not want to be a burden to his family and friends
d. he suffered from bipolar disorder and did not want to experience the depths of depression
again

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Factual

13. Research by Furr and colleagues (2001) indicates that ____.

a. suicide rates among college students are no higher than among a matched noncollege
group
b. money problems is the most common factor contributing to suicidal ideation and behavior
among college students
c. there is no perceived social stigma associated to suicide among college students
d. almost all graduate students who seriously considered suicide in the past 12 months told
someone

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Factual

14. Research investigating the role of gender in suicide has found that ____.
a. completed suicide rates are much higher for women than for men
b. men are more likely than women to attempt suicide
c. among young people, there is close to an equal number of males and females who attempt
suicide and who complete it
d. the highest rates of completed suicide are for men age 40 and older who suffer from health
problems and depression

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Factual

15. Which of the following is accurate about people who attempt suicide?
a. Most of them leave suicide notes.
b. Most of them want to cause pain for the people they leave behind.
c. Approximately 70 percent of them drink alcohol before attempting to kill themselves.
d. Virtually all of them suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Factual
16. Dr. Charon, a sociologist, is likely to find the lowest rates of suicide among people who are ____.
a. divorced c. widowed
b. single d. married

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Applied

17. ____ are more likely to attempt suicide; ____ are more likely to succeed at committing suicide.
a. White adolescents; Native American adolescents
b. Females; males
c. White males over 40; African American males in their 20s
d. Unattached individuals; married persons

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Conceptual

18. Which statement below is accurate?

a. Suicide among young people aged 15-24 has increased by more than 40 percent in the past
decade.
b. For every person who completes a suicide, there are about two who attempt it.
c. Suicide is much more common among college students than among people of the same
age who are not in college.
d. It is relatively easy to tell if an "accident" was really a suicide.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Factual

19. Statistically, who is at greatest risk for committing suicide?

a. Bobby, a 14-year-old African American male
b. Star, a 35-year-old Native American female
c. Stuart, a 65-year-old white male
d. Sue, a 30-year-old Japanese American female

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Applied

20. Which elderly person is most likely to commit suicide if depressed?

a. Harold, a married African American male
b. Lawrence, a married white American male
c. Vern, a divorced white American male
d. Vivian, a single African American female

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Conceptual
21. Which person is at highest risk for committing suicide?
a. Harriet L., a 35-year-old devout Catholic
b. George T., an elderly white widower
c. Martha K., a young married professional
d. Abdullah J., a middle class married man of Syrian ancestry

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Applied

22. Which professional would be most likely to commit suicide?

a. A CPA c. A teacher
b. A pediatrician d. A psychiatrist

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Factual

23. When it comes to suicidal behavior, men are more likely than women to ____.
a. actually kill themselves c. attempt, but not complete, suicide
b. attempt suicide when psychotic d. use drug overdoses as their method

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Factual

24. Among children younger than fifteen, the most common suicide method tends to be ____, and for
older children the most common suicide method is ____.
a. jumping from buildings; drug overdose c. firearms; poisoning
b. drug overdose; jumping form buildings d. drowning; firearms

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Factual

25. An emergency medical squad arrives at the house of a man who has killed himself. The odds are that
the method of committing suicide was ____.
a. breathing the fumes from the engine of a car in a closed garage
b. ingesting barbiturates or other depressants
c. using a knife to cut himself
d. using a firearm

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Applied
26. A disturbing change in suicidal behavior is that women are now ____.
a. more likely to use poisoning by barbiturates
b. using firearms and explosives as methods of suicide more often
c. more likely to commit suicide by "accident" as by any other method
d. more likely to be in the lower socioeconomic levels of society

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Factual

27. Of the following countries, which has the highest suicide rate?
a. China c. Saudi Arabia
b. Hungary d. United States

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Factual

28. What is the primary reason that countries such as Italy and Ireland have lower suicide rates?
a. The majority religion there has strong prohibitions against suicide.
b. They do not experience the stressors common to promoting suicide, such as economic
difficulties.
c. They have longer summers, so fewer citizens experience seasonal affective disorder,
which is often a precursor to suicide.
d. They have better psychological facilities.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Conceptual

29. Which statement is accurate?

a. It is rare for people to communicate their intention to commit suicide.
b. Suicide rates are generally at their highest during times of war.
c. In the United States, Asian Americans have the highest overall rates of suicide.
d. Most people who attempt suicide are ambivalent about dying.

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Factual

30. Which psychological state of mind is most predictive of suicidal behavior?

a. depression c. anxiety
b. dissociation d. obsessive-compulsive disorder

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Factual
31. The stimulus for suicide is generally ____.
a. frustration with life c. ambivalence about living
b. intolerable psychological pain d. a desire to be remembered by others

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Factual

32. Researchers who study suicide statistics believe that the number of actual suicides is ____.
a. a pretty accurate reflection of reality
b. probably 25-30 percent lower than what is reported
c. probably 25-30 percent higher than what is reported
d. probably underreported because of the concern about copycat suicides

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Factual

33. Research by Drum and colleagues (2009) found that ____.

a. more than 90 percent of undergraduate and graduate college students reported suicidal
thoughts
b. more than 50 percent of undergraduate and graduate college students reported suicidal
thoughts
c. more than 50 percent of undergraduate and graduate college students reported seriously
considering suicide
d. more than 90 percent of undergraduate and graduate college students reported seriously
considering suicide

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Factual

34. Consider these suicidal patients: Mary is in the depths of a severe depression. Jack is hospitalized for
depression. Patty has just gotten her first weekend pass from the psychiatric hospital. Who is at highest
risk for suicide?
a. Mary c. Patty
b. Jack d. Mary and Patty are equally high risks.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Applied
35. A friend of yours says, "I heard that suicide is correlated to depression and feeling hopeless. However,
those who those who commit suicide rarely suffer from a mental disorder or abuse substances. In fact,
when people are at the depths of depression, they are most likely to commit suicide." Which portion, if
any, of your friend's statement is accurate?
a. Suicide is correlated to depression and feeling hopeless.
b. Suicide is most likely committed during the depths of depression.
c. Those who those who commit suicide rarely suffer from a mental disorder.
d. those who those who commit suicide rarely abuse substances.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Applied

36. Based on research by Beck et al. (1985), which of the following people is most likely to complete
suicide?
a. Morton, who is unrealistically optimistic
b. Jed, who is depressed
c. Zach, who thinks about suicide a good deal
d. Lenny, who is very pessimistic

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Applied

37. Research seems to show that hopelessness and negative expectations about the future ____.
a. are unrelated to the likelihood of suicide
b. are even more strongly related to suicidal behavior than depression is
c. cause suicide but not depression
d. cause depression but not suicide

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Factual

38. Researchers attribute the link between alcohol and suicide to a condition that is characterized by a
constriction of cognitive and perceptual processes and narrowing a person's focus on their personal
problems. This explanation of the effects of alcohol on suicide is called ____.
a. alcohol-induced myopia c. Korsakoff's syndrome
b. alcohol-induced presbyopia d. alcohol-induced blindness

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Factual

39. Of the following widowed individuals, who has the lowest risk for suicide?
a. Cleo, a white female c. Jefferson, an African American male
b. Shanti, an African American female d. Martin, a white male

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Applied
40. A mental health professional wanting to reduce the risk of suicide in a client who uses alcohol would
probably say, ____.
a. "Stop drinking. Alcohol constricts your thinking, and that is dangerous."
b. "If you stop drinking suddenly, you will experience alcohol myopia, a dangerous
condition."
c. "Alcohol myopia is a pleasant state that will probably reduce your likelihood of
committing suicide."
d. "I'm not worried about your drinking because you are less likely to take your life when
sober than when intoxicated."

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Conceptual

41. A schizophrenic who commits suicide is most likely experiencing ____.

a. delusions of persecution c. auditory hallucinations
b. remission of symptoms d. an episode of depression

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Factual

42. Regina, a 60-year-old widow, is most likely to use which means of attempting suicide?
a. a gun c. sleeping pills
b. a knife d. hanging

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Applied

43. Dr. Ethan says, "Suicide rates vary with occupation and income group. They also vary depending on
the individual's relationship to and interaction with society." Dr. Ethan's remarks reflect which
perspective on suicide?
a. sociocultural c. cognitive
b. psychodynamic d. behavioral

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Conceptual

44. "In my view, suicide is related to the impact of sociocultural factors on a person." Who is most likely
to have made this statement?
a. Thomas Szasz c. Aaron Beck
b. Emile Durkheim d. Sigmund Freud

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Conceptual
45. Camp Walakota is a "spiritual boot camp" for Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe teens. What does the camp
do to try to improve the quality of life for the campers?
a. It helps them assimilate into white culture.
b. It provides them with remedial education so they can get jobs.
c. It reacquaints them with their cultural heritage.
d. It teaches them Western religious values.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Applied

46. Durkheim's theory suggests that ____.

a. suicides are mostly selfish acts
b. suicide is driven by unconscious, self-destructive motives
c. suicide is caused primarily by a chemical imbalance in the brain
d. suicide can result from an inability to integrate oneself with society

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Factual

47. Thieu is very committed to his religious and political views. He believes that his suicide by
self-immolation will bring global attention to the plight of his people. If Thieu commits suicide, we
might consider this type of suicide ____.
a. anomic c. egoistic
b. altruistic d. psychopathic

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Applied

48. Butch is Lakota. Which of the following is currently a risk factor that he and his friends face with
regard to suicide?
a. interaction with their elders c. marital discord
b. invalidation of their cultural lifestyle d. resources for clinical care

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Applied

49. Suicide methods of those suffering from schizophrenia are often ____.
a. violent and bizarre c. drowning
b. hanging d. poisoning

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Factual
50. A researcher is investigating the neurotransmitters associated with suicide. She is likely to find that in
those who complete suicide, ____.
a. 5HIAA levels are abnormally low
b. norepinephrine levels are abnormally high
c. adrenalin levels are abnormally low
d. serotonin levels are abnormally high

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Factual

51. Suppose that five years from now there is a blood test that assesses the likelihood of a person's
committing suicide. It is likely that this test will measure the blood levels of ____.
a. dexamethasone c. dopamine
b. serotonin d. adrenalin

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Conceptual

52. Research addressing the connection between suicide and genetic factors suggests that ____.
a. there is very little relationship between the two
b. genetics plays a major role in susceptibility to suicide
c. the relationship between the two is not clear
d. environmental factors play a much stronger role than genetics

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Factual

53. Which statement about suicide among children and youths is accurate?
a. The suicide rate in the United States has not changed over the past twenty-five years.
b. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among adolescents, just behind auto accidents
as a cause of death in adolescents.
c. Children who commit suicide tend to have high levels of 5-HIAA in their brains and
spinal cords.
d. About 12,000 children between ages 5 and 14 attempt suicide each year in the United
States.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: Victims of Suicide

OBJ: 3 MSC: Factual

54. When children and adolescents mimic a previous suicide or imitate the suicide of a celebrity or close
friend, this is considered a ____.
a. “copy cat” suicide c. “bullycide”
b. “black box” warning d. correlate of suicide

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Victims of Suicide

OBJ: 3 MSC: Factual
55. An explanation for the increase in youth suicides relates to ____.
a. the FDA warning of an increased suicide risk for children taking SSRI antidepressants
b. unwelcome physical changes
c. access to firearms
d. degree of education

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Victims of Suicide

OBJ: 3 MSC: Factual

56. Based on research, which teenager is at greatest risk for completing a suicide?
a. Sandy, whose parents are both employed
b. Sam, who is the family scapegoat
c. Sarah, who shows little hostility
d. Steve, who shows no signs of psychological impairment

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: Victims of Suicide

OBJ: 3 MSC: Applied

57. Research indicates that bully victims are _____ to consider suicide than non victims.
a. 2 to 9 times c. 15 times
b. 30 to 40 times d. just as likely

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Victims of Suicide

OBJ: 3 MSC: Factual

58. Which statement concerning suicide among the young is most accurate?
a. Adolescent males commit the majority of suicides.
b. Adolescents are most likely to attempt suicide in the summer, and adults are at highest risk
in the winter.
c. Adolescent females commit the majority of suicides.
d. The rates of suicide are relatively stable year-round.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Correlates of Suicide

OBJ: 1 MSC: Factual

59. When television newscasters dramatize suicides, there is the danger of ____.
a. reducing the early identification of suicide attempters
b. increasing the lethality of the methods that suicide attempters choose
c. increasing the sense of depression among adolescents
d. generating copycat suicides

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Victims of Suicide

OBJ: 3 MSC: Factual
60. Norman is a 71-year-old white widower who is very depressed. He still lives in the small town that he
grew up in and attends church every Sunday. He also attends many other regular social activities
during the week. What statement regarding Norman's susceptibility to suicide is most accurate?
a. Norman is at minimal risk to commit suicide.
b. The fact that Norman is an elderly, white, depressed male puts him in a high-risk group,
but his social support system is a positive sign.
c. Norman displays all the risk factors associated with suicide and is likely to commit
suicide.
d. Norman requires immediate hospitalization.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: Victims of Suicide

OBJ: 3 MSC: Applied

61. If we looked at the death records for a large city, we would probably find that suicide was most
common among ____.
a. Hispanic Americans c. middle-aged women
b. elderly white men d. young white females

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: Victims of Suicide

OBJ: 3 MSC: Factual

62. A suicide prevention program in San Francisco, where there is a large Asian American population,
would target efforts at ____.
a. elderly women who are second- or third-generation Americans
b. college students who have strong family ties
c. elderly men who have just arrived in the United States
d. young men who are second- or third-generation Americans

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: Victims of Suicide

OBJ: 3 MSC: Conceptual

63. Feelings of isolation and a sense of having failed to earn sufficient money are reasons why suicide
rates are so high among ____.
a. adolescent females c. older black men
b. first-generation Asian immigrants d. third-generation Asian Americans

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: Victims of Suicide

OBJ: 3 MSC: Factual

64. Of the following groups of elderly men, which is at highest risk for suicide?
a. Chinese who have just arrived in the United States
b. American Indians
c. African Americans living in rural areas
d. Chinese who are acculturated and have strong family ties

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Victims of Suicide

OBJ: 3 MSC: Factual
65. When working with a patient who is potentially suicidal, Dr. Gold uses a common three-step process.
This would include which of the following?
a. determining the degree of probability that the person will act on the suicidal wish
b. establishing a suicide prevention center
c. knowing what factors are highly correlated with stress
d. beginning a program of psychotherapy

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Applied

66. Mental health professionals believe that potential suicide victims ____.
a. always announce their intentions as an attention-seeking device
b. are ambivalent about wanting to kill themselves
c. cannot be dissuaded because they are psychotic
d. are nearly impossible to detect

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Factual

67. A psychologist who is asked to assess patients' lethality is being asked to find out ____.
a. the probability that they will choose to end their lives
b. whether they will survive their suicidal actions
c. whether other people will copy their actions
d. which method they are like to choose when attempting suicide

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Factual

68. Early warning signs of suicide include ____.

a. giving away belongings c. putting affairs in order
b. sudden changes in behavior d. expressions of guilty feelings

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Factual

69. Some clues of suicidal intent are direct, and some are indirect. Which of the following is an indirect
clue?
a. A person loading a pistol and saying he knows how to use it on himself
b. A student giving away his treasured collection of CDs
c. An employee saying, "If I don't get the promotion, I'll kill myself."
d. A teenager storing up depressant drugs and scheduling a time to take them

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Conceptual
70. Honey makes daily threats that she is going to kill herself and she has had made several unsuccessful
attempts. Mental health professionals who work with suicidal clients know that ____.
a. Honey is trying to get attention
b. Honey is not serious about taking her life
c. Honey's threats should be taken seriously
d. Honey is more likely to kill someone other than herself

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Applied

71. "I'd make everyone happier if I just shot myself" is an example of a ____; revising one's will and
giving away one's record collection are examples of ____.
a. psychodynamic clue of suicide; behavioral clues of suicide
b. behavioral clue of suicide; suicidal gestures
c. suicidal gesture; suicide attempts
d. verbal clue of suicide; behavioral clues of suicide

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Conceptual

72. Peter lives in a state that has one of the highest rates of suicide in the United States. Out of the
following states, he must live in ____.
a. New Jersey c. Massachusetts
b. New York d. Nevada

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Factual

73. Providing intensive short-term help to assist potential suicide victims in resolving a life crisis is the
aim of ____.
a. traditional therapy c. suicide prevention
b. crisis intervention d. insight psychotherapy

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Factual

74. Gary was hospitalized when he was considered at high risk for suicide. A team of counselors saw him
for four hours every day for three days until his suicidal thinking was greatly reduced. The team was
extremely active in mobilizing his family and occupational resources outside the hospital. This
experience best illustrates ____.
a. crisis intervention
b. "right-to-suicide" interventions
c. how psychotherapy is used with suicidal people
d. suicide prevention programs

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Applied
75. High-intensity assessment and treatment during which professionals take charge of the suicidal
individual's personal, social, and professional life outside the psychiatric facility characterize ____.
a. suicide prevention work c. crisis intervention work
b. psychological autopsies d. paraprofessional assistance

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Factual

76. What is the usual sequence of help in crisis intervention?

a. First, the client is helped to resolve the immediate crisis, and then traditional therapy is
offered.
b. First, the individual is treated as an outpatient, and then the individual comes in for
inpatient medical treatment.
c. First, relatives are contacted, and then the staff works on the crisis with the individual.
d. First, traditional therapy explores the motivation for the crisis, then the individual is
hospitalized to prevent the suicide, and then therapy is provided to the individual and his
or her family.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Conceptual

77. Which perspective offers the most viable explanation of suicide?

a. multipath c. biological
b. psychodynamic d. sociocultural

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Factual

78. Which type of intervention has been established in local communities to help potentially suicidal
individuals who are in acute distress but are not being formally treated?
a. suicide prevention centers c. community mental health clinics
b. crisis intervention centers d. state mental hospitals

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Factual
79. Imagine that there are two organizations in a community, Help Inc. and Open Door. Help Inc. is
available to everyone in the community through a telephone contact. Callers are trained to assess
suicidal callers. Open Door has a team of mental health professionals in a clinic where short-term help
is given to those who are in immediate danger of suicide. Which description is accurate?
a. Help Inc. is a suicide prevention center.
b. Open Door is a suicide prevention center.
c. Help Inc. is a crisis intervention program.
d. Open Door is a community prevention program.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Applied

80. Who would be expected to use the most violent and bizarre method for committing suicide?
a. Lisa, who has been diagnosed with unipolar disorder
b. David, who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder
c. Mack, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia
d. George, who has been diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: A Multipath Perspective of Suicide

OBJ: 2 MSC: Applied

81. Kyoko is a well-trained suicide prevention hot line worker. She would ____.
a. never be involved in evaluating a caller's suicidal potential
b. always want to allow the suicidal caller to develop his or her own plan of action
c. always want to establish a good relationship with a suicidal caller
d. never ask the suicidal caller's age, religious preference, or name

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Applied

82. Ron works as a paraprofessional for a program that receives telephone calls twenty-four hours a day.
He has been trained to evaluate an individual's risk of suicide. What kind of program does Ron
probably work for?
a. a halfway house
b. an employee-assistance program
c. a crisis intervention unit in a mental hospital
d. a suicide prevention center

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Applied
83. Ignacio calls a telephone hot line because he is thinking of harming himself. The telephone counselor
asks him if he is married, if he has ever harmed himself before, and the stressors he faces. Why are
these questions being asked?
a. The counselor is assessing his lethality.
b. The counselor just wants to establish good rapport.
c. The law requires this information about everyone who calls a telephone hot line.
d. The counselor is performing a psychological autopsy.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Applied

84. John calls a suicide prevention hot line in a desperate state of helplessness. A well-trained worker
should focus John's attention on ____.
a. research evidence that helplessness is a product of operant conditioning
b. the fact that helplessness is a normal reaction to an absurd world
c. specific interpersonal limitations related to his helplessness
d. his strengths and resources to cope with his problems

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Applied

85. Which successful suicide would be considered a rare event?

a. a suicide in which the individual was pessimistic about the future
b. a suicide that is related to shame about an action that the individual had taken
c. a suicide that is not connected to alcohol abuse
d. a suicide that involved no previous suicide attempts

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Factual

86. Which statement about research on suicide prevention centers is accurate?

a. Little research has been done on their effectiveness.
b. Almost every study has shown that they save lives.
c. Although callers universally find the counselors more helpful than friends, they are
unlikely to call back a second time.
d. A great deal of research shows that these centers are actually harmful to their clients.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Factual
87. A controversy concerning suicide prevention centers is that ____.
a. most communities are so upset with them that they are forced to close down
b. they rarely assess the lethality of clients accurately
c. they are open only during weekday business hours
d. their effectiveness has not been appropriately researched

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Factual

88. Professor Jacobs is telling his class that suicide prevention centers are thought to be extremely helpful.
He says, "Although they only evaluate suicidal potential, they typically operate twenty-four hours a
day, seven days a week. Research shows that the phone counselors and these centers are effective."
Which portion of the statement is accurate?
a. They typically operate twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week
b. Research shows that these centers are effective.
c. They only evaluate suicidal potential.
d. Research shows that the phone counselors are effective.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Applied

89. In general, the evaluation of suicide prevention centers' effectiveness indicates that ____.
a. nearly half of all adolescents who commit suicide call a hot line first, indicating that the
prevention centers are ineffective
b. for the vast majority of callers, they are very helpful
c. although they may not stop every suicide, callers feel that the centers provide more help
than their friends
d. although convincing evidence for their success is lacking, it is possible that they help

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Factual

90. As a result of the increase in adolescent suicides, approximately 41 percent of schools in the United
States have developed ____.
a. community prevention programs
b. suicide prevention programs
c. crisis intervention programs
d. mental health centers on high school campuses

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: Victims of Suicide

OBJ: 3 MSC: Factual
91. Local media gave extensive coverage to a traumatic incident in which a teacher doused herself with
gasoline and lit herself on fire. The school administration assembled a mental health consulting team
to reduce the risk of fire setting among the students. Their primary action was to ____.
a. provide information to the students and their parents about what happened
b. provide students and staff with an opportunity to express and understand their reactions to
the event
c. let students know that anyone caught with potentially lethal items would be suspended
from school
d. assess which students and teachers needed referrals to local therapists

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: Victims of Suicide

OBJ: 3 MSC: Applied

92. Which of the following would be a protective factor with regard to suicide intervention?
a. government prohibitions against suicide
b. easy access to mood-enhancing drugs
c. an increased number of comedy programs on television
d. restricting access to lethal means of suicide

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Preventing Suicide

OBJ: 4 MSC: Factual

93. Vincent is conducting a survey to assess how Americans feel about the right of terminally ill
individuals to end their lives. He is likely to find that ____.
a. a large minority would approve
b. a majority would approve
c. there would be close to a fifty-fifty split between those who approve and those who
disapprove
d. a majority would disapprove

ANS: B PTS: 1
REF: The Right to Suicide: Moral, Ethical, and Legal Issues OBJ: 5
MSC: Applied

94. What is the legal status of physician assisted suicide among the various states in the United States?
a. Although suicide is illegal in most states, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has
upheld Oregon's decision to allow physician assisted suicide.
b.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld the U.S. Attorney General's directive
overturning Oregon's approval of physician assisted suicide, so assisted suicide is illegal in
all fifty states.
c.
All of the states in the U.S. now have "living will" laws that permit physician-assisted
suicide.
d. Most states have determined that it is permissible for a parent or spouse to help a
terminally ill patient end his or her life, but they do not allow physicians to do so.

ANS: A PTS: 1
REF: The Right to Suicide: Moral, Ethical, and Legal Issues OBJ: 5
MSC: Factual
95. If you hear a presentation by Thomas Szasz, you would most likely hear him say, ____.
a. "Government has a moral duty to prevent an individual from taking his own life."
b. "Ending one's life is an act of a moral agent (a person), who is ultimately responsible for
that act."
c. "Unless we can say words like death and suicide we can never help our clients cope with
their relatives' suicides."
d. "Prevention is much more efficient and effective than treatment."

ANS: B PTS: 1
REF: The Right to Suicide: Moral, Ethical, and Legal Issues OBJ: 5
MSC: Conceptual

96. Quality of life and quality of humanness are phrases used by ____.
a. those who perform psychological autopsies
b. telephone hot line counselor
c. Thomas Szasz to argue for doctor-assisted suicide
d. advocates of right-to-die laws

ANS: D PTS: 1
REF: The Right to Suicide: Moral, Ethical, and Legal Issues OBJ: 5
MSC: Factual

97. The Hemlock Society ____.

a. dates back to the time of Socrates
b. has been outlawed in the United States
c. opposes assisted suicide
d. advocates for people's right to end their lives

ANS: D PTS: 1
REF: The Right to Suicide: Moral, Ethical, and Legal Issues OBJ: 5
MSC: Factual

98. Dr. Jack Kevorkian ____.

a. believed patients should be responsible for ending their own lives
b. only helped terminally ill individuals commit suicide
c. helped individuals commit suicide that did not have diseases that threatened to kill them in
the immediate future
d. believed physician assisted suicide is immoral.

ANS: C PTS: 1
REF: The Right to Suicide: Moral, Ethical, and Legal Issues OBJ: 5
MSC: Factual
 99. One of the problems with defining quality of life and quality of humanness as the criteria for deciding
between life and death is that ____.
a. these definitions contradict dignified-dying laws
b. these definitions contradict advance-directive laws
c. they raise questions surrounding ethics and human values that are difficult to answer
d. that these definitions assume that life is better than death

ANS: C PTS: 1
REF: The Right to Suicide: Moral, Ethical, and Legal Issues OBJ: 5
MSC: Factual

100. As a proponent of the right to suicide, Deborah probably believes that ____.
a. when people lack the funds to receive good medical care, they have a right to end their
lives
b. suicide is a rational act
c. it does not matter if a person is of sound mind; anyone who wishes to end his or her life
has a right to do so
d. no one should be talked out of a decision to commit suicide

ANS: B PTS: 1
REF: The Right to Suicide: Moral, Ethical, and Legal Issues OBJ: 5
MSC: Applied

ESSAY

1. Discuss how men and women differ in their efforts to end their lives. How do marriage, age, and
ethnicity influence these differences?

ANS:
Although women are more likely than men to attempt suicide, men use more lethal means (e.g.,
firearms or hanging versus barbiturates); thus, men are four times more likely to be successful. Suicide
rates for young males age 15-24 rose more than 40 percent in the last decade (50% for males and 12%
for females). The highest risk group of all is white males over the age of 65, especially those who are
not married. Being single, divorced, and widowed are all risk factors for suicide, with widowhood
being a higher risk factor for white men and women and African American men, although at older ages
divorce increases the risk. Marriage seems to be a buffer for men and women; single adolescents girls
and single men in their thirties are especially at risk. The completed suicide rate for men is ten times
that for women, although women attempt suicide three times as often as men.

Bearing in mind that older white males have the highest rate of completed suicides, in terms of
ethnicity when combining males and females, Native American have the highest rate, followed by
white Americans, Mexican Americans, African Americans, Japanese Americans, and Chinese
Americans. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for American Indian youth, compared to being
the third leading cause of death for white youngsters. Alcoholism, socioeconomic factors like poverty,
and lack of validation of their cultural lifestyle are all particularly poignant risk factors for Native
Americans.

PTS: 1
2. Discuss how the biological and sociocultural approaches explain the causes of suicidal behavior.

ANS:
We have only correlational data on the causes of suicide. Biological theorists propose that
abnormalities in the nervous system will correlate with suicide, and they have found one that does: low
levels of the chemical 5-HIAA in the cerebrospinal fluid of suicide victims. This chemical is a
byproduct of the neurotransmitter serotonin, so it seems likely that deficiencies in serotonin might be
associated with suicidal tendencies. Research shows that patients with low 5-HIAA levels are more
likely to be depressed, aggressive, and impulsive than others, a combination that points toward suicide.
Most remarkable is that low levels of 5-HIAA have been discovered in suicidal individuals who had
no history of depression. An association exists, but it is not clear whether biology is cause, effect, or
directly involved at all in suicide.

Almost 100 years ago, the great sociologist Emile Durkheim proposed a sociocultural theory of suicide
that is still useful. In his view, suicide reflects a relationship between the suicidal individual and his or
her community. Individuals who fail to develop a nurturing network of social supports are unable to
function adequately and become isolated. Disconnected, these individuals end their lives rather than
remain alone. Altruistic suicides are culturally supported acts to further a group's goals. Buddhist
monks who killed themselves to protest the government of Vietnam in the 1960s and Iraqi "insurgents"
who kill others while they blow up buildings and themselves with truck bombs illustrate this kind of
suicide. Finally, there are suicides caused by wrenching changes in people's relationship to society. An
economic crash, a sudden loss of social status, or being forced to emigrate from one's homeland may
be yet another trigger for suicides. These categories, however, do more to describe types of suicides
than to explain them. Further, as much as the biological approach puts too much emphasis on the inner
molecular world, the sociocultural approach excludes the internal, psychological world. Neither
perspective gives a complete answer; the multipath model—which incorporates biological,
psychological, social, and sociocultural factors—gives a more complete picture of what suicide is and
how it occurs.

PTS: 1

3. List and describe five different risk factors for suicide.

ANS:
Risk factors do not necessarily explain suicidal behavior but are the factors that are often found in the
backgrounds of suicidal individuals. Five such risk factors include:
a. Suicidal thoughts and talk: An estimated 80 percent of suicides are preceded by some kind of
warning, either direct or indirect.
b. Mental disorders, depressive disorders: Diagnosable depressive disorders have been implicated in
40 to 60 percent of suicides. About 15 percent of persons with a diagnosis of major depression or
bipolar disorder will eventually kill themselves.
c. Alcoholism: This is associated with approximately 25 percent of suicide deaths, and the presence of
depression along with alcoholism is a particularly severe risk factor.
d. Lethal methods: Basically, individuals who choose more lethal methods are more likely to complete
a suicide than those who use nonlethal methods (e.g., firearms versus pills).
e. Isolation, living alone, loss of support: Being isolated and lacking the support of positive
relationships may well limit a person's access to resources that would otherwise counteract
hopelessness.

PTS: 1