Violence victimization and perpetration in relation to fearlessness about death in suicidal psychiatric inpatients
| Date | 09 July 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JACPR-07-2017-0307 |
| Pages | 202-209 |
| Published date | 09 July 2018 |
| Author | Stephani Granato,Shannon Boone,Shane Kuhlman,Phillip N. Smith |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Aggression, conflict & peace,Sociology,Gender studies,Gender violence,Political sociology, policy & social change,Social conflicts,War/peace |
Violence victimization and perpetration
in relation to fearlessness about death
in suicidal psychiatric inpatients
Stephani Granato, Shannon Boone, Shane Kuhlman and Phillip N. Smith
Abstract
Purpose –The interpersonal theory of suicide proposes that fearlessness about death, one aspect of the
capability for suicide, may explain men’s greater risk for death by suicide. The purpose of this paper is to
examine whether violence perpetration and victimization would mediate the relation of gender with
fearlessness about death in suicidal psychiatric inpatients.
Design/methodology/approach –The current study used a cross-sectional survey design in a sample of
196 psychiatric inpatients admitted for suicide risk.
Findings –Men endorsed greater fearlessness about death compared to women. The relation of gender
with fearlessness about death was partially mediated by violence perpetration, but not victimization. Violence
perpetration may play a more central role in the development of fearlessness about death, the capability for
suicide, and the transition from suicide ideation to action compared to violence victimization.
Research limitations/implications –The current study was cross-sectional and not able to definitively
answer questions about the development of the capability for suicide. Future research must examine how
fearlessness about death evolves over time.
Practical implications –Suicide risk assessment should include history of violence perpetration, as this
may better identify those who may be at greater risk for suicide due to greater fearlessness about death.
Originality/value –The current study adds to the growing literature that aims to understand variables that
explain the transition from suicide ideation to action.
Keywords Gender, Interpersonal theory of suicide, Fearlessness about death, Interpersonal violence,
Violence perpetration, Violence victimization
Paper type Research paper
Suicide is thetenth leading cause ofdeath in the USA (Centers forDisease Control, 2017).Among
the over 44,000 individuals who die by suicide each year, roughly 75 percent are men. Although
there exists a large literature pointing to a multitude of risk factors for suicide (Borges et al., 2008),
recent meta-analyses suggest that the actual predictive strength of these risk factors is only slightly
better than chance (Franklin et al.,2016;Ribeiroet al., 2016). The clinical utility of the risk factor
research literature has also been hampered by the reality that such risk factors are far more
common than the outcome they intend to predict (i.e. they exhibit poor specificity; Pokorny, 1983).
As a result, some researchers have shifted attention toward examining correlates and risk factors for
suicide in terms of their ability to explain the transition from the desire for death by suicide to a lethal
or near lethal suicide attempt (Klonsky and May, 2014, 2015). This “ideation to action framework”is
exemplified by the interpersonal theory of suicide (Joiner, 2005; Van Orden et al., 2010).
The interpersonal theory of suicide holds as its main assumption that the desire for death by
suicide and the capability for suicide are distinct (Joiner, 2005). The capability for suicide
serves as the limitingfactor that determines who, of those who experience the desire for deathby
suicide, willtransition from ideation to lethalaction (Smith and Cukrowicz,2010). The interpersonal
theory describesthe capability for suicide as an emergent factorcomprised of two components –
fearlessness about death and increased physical pain tolerance (Van Orden et al., 2010).
A growing body of research supports the role of the capability for suicide, and fearlessness
Received 11 July 2017
Revised 23 August 2017
Accepted 23 August 2017
The American Foundation for
Suicide Prevention (YIG-0-10-286;
PI: Smith) provided funding for this
study.
Stephani Granato is based at
the Trauma & Deployment
Recovery Services, Oklahoma
City VAHCS, Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma, USA.
Shannon Boone is a Doctoral
Student, Shane Kuhlman is a
Graduate Assistant, and
Phillip N. Smith is an Assistant
Professor, all at the Department
of Psychology, University of
South Alabama, Mobile,
Alabama, USA.
PAGE202
j
JOURNAL OF AGGRESSION, CONFLICT AND PEACE RESEARCH
j
VOL. 10 NO. 3 2018, pp.202-209, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1759-6599 DOI 10.1108/JACPR-07-2017-0307
To continue reading
Request your trial