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Suicide Notes: Predictive Clues and Patterns
Book by Leenaars, Antoon A.
279 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 9, 2020
I would love to see an updated version of this, paying heed to the advancements we've made regarding the interconnections of biology, psychology, and sociology.
Reads a bit like an extensive research paper. The suicide notes included in an an appendix were difficult to decipher at times and would be better suited placed throughout the book to illustrate the study's findings.
Reads a bit like an extensive research paper. The suicide notes included in an an appendix were difficult to decipher at times and would be better suited placed throughout the book to illustrate the study's findings.
July 23, 2015
- An article in The New Yorker Magazine stated that Dr. Leenaars possessed the world's largest collection of original suicide notes (more than 5,000). This book analyses these notes using suicidal theories from 10 experts in the field (including Adler and Freud). Much of it was commonsensical, and much was deeply academic (some statistical analysis was unreadable - "A coefficient of concordance of .76 between the two judges indicated substantial inter-judge reliability (p<.05). Chi-square tests for two independent samples (Seigel, 1956) were performed to assess the significance of differences in verification instances for each protocol statement..."
- a subject that is fascinating to me
- if you can keep yourself from being bogged down by academic mumbo-jumbo, there is much to be learned from this book:
- excerpts: "Suicide notes are THE ultrapersonal documents. They are the unsolicited productions of the suicidal person, usually written before the suicidal death. They are an invaluable starting point for comprehending the special features of the people who actually commit suicide and what they share in common with the rest of us who have only been drawn to imagine it. Suicide notes are a way through the looking glass to suicide although, unlike Alice, we will not find "beautiful things" there, but unbearable pain..."
- "How representational are suicide notes? To what extent can one generalize from the note-writers to those who do not leave a note? ...approximately 12% to 15% of people who commit suicide leave notes."
- "Analysis of the suicide notes also suggest that the reasons stated in the notes are quite different, depending on age (Darbonne, 1969b). The problem, which seems to preoccupy the young adult (20-39) is concern over relationships. The 40 to 49 age group often communicate a state of being vanquished; they seem unequal to the demands of life and often express statements of departure or egression. The 50 - 59 age group often do not cite a reason; rather, they frequently use the note to give instructions and to leave information. The 60-and-over group often cite illness, pain, and physical disabilities and write more often about loneliness and isolation."
- "Other demographic variables such as social status, marital status, and sex appear to result in some differences in suicide notes, but these appear to be less important than age. The reason for the suicide and the affective state appear to differ somewhat depending on social status (Shneidman & Farberow, 1969). People from the upper classes often give no reason, although they do write more often about "being tired of life" or physical illnesses; the middle class often write about rejection and express much affect in their notes; and the lower class express the least affect, the greatest number of instructions, and often communicate about the pressure of their existence."
- a subject that is fascinating to me
- if you can keep yourself from being bogged down by academic mumbo-jumbo, there is much to be learned from this book:
- excerpts: "Suicide notes are THE ultrapersonal documents. They are the unsolicited productions of the suicidal person, usually written before the suicidal death. They are an invaluable starting point for comprehending the special features of the people who actually commit suicide and what they share in common with the rest of us who have only been drawn to imagine it. Suicide notes are a way through the looking glass to suicide although, unlike Alice, we will not find "beautiful things" there, but unbearable pain..."
- "How representational are suicide notes? To what extent can one generalize from the note-writers to those who do not leave a note? ...approximately 12% to 15% of people who commit suicide leave notes."
- "Analysis of the suicide notes also suggest that the reasons stated in the notes are quite different, depending on age (Darbonne, 1969b). The problem, which seems to preoccupy the young adult (20-39) is concern over relationships. The 40 to 49 age group often communicate a state of being vanquished; they seem unequal to the demands of life and often express statements of departure or egression. The 50 - 59 age group often do not cite a reason; rather, they frequently use the note to give instructions and to leave information. The 60-and-over group often cite illness, pain, and physical disabilities and write more often about loneliness and isolation."
- "Other demographic variables such as social status, marital status, and sex appear to result in some differences in suicide notes, but these appear to be less important than age. The reason for the suicide and the affective state appear to differ somewhat depending on social status (Shneidman & Farberow, 1969). People from the upper classes often give no reason, although they do write more often about "being tired of life" or physical illnesses; the middle class often write about rejection and express much affect in their notes; and the lower class express the least affect, the greatest number of instructions, and often communicate about the pressure of their existence."
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews