Understanding the development of the concept of suicide through the use of early memory technique

Early memories of adults were examined to assess the understanding of the concept of suicide from childhood experiences. Two sets of early memories were gathered in which subjects recalled their earliest suicide memory and their earliest suicidal thought. Content analysis of these memories revealed...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Death studies 1992-07, Vol.16 (4), p.299-316
Main Author: Clark, Dana A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Children & youth
Content analysis
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Memory
Psychology and medicine
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Social research
Suicides & suicide attempts
Thanatology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Early memories of adults were examined to assess the understanding of the concept of suicide from childhood experiences. Two sets of early memories were gathered in which subjects recalled their earliest suicide memory and their earliest suicidal thought. Content analysis of these memories revealed that between the ages of 8 and 12 initial exposure to suicide occurs predominately through impersonal means; at this level of suicide understanding, uncertainty surrounds the motivating factors of suicide. It was found that at approximately age 14, a mature adult conception of suicide existed. This was a time period in which individuals, for the first time, were beginning to think about killing themselves as a solution to personal conflict or emotional turmoil in their life. Findings support research relating to the areas of death conception and levels of cognitive functioning in children. Further areas of investigation are outlined.
ISSN:0748-1187
1091-7683
DOI:10.1080/07481189208252579