Chapter 10

1. About how many suicides are committed annually in the United States?
A. 15,000
B. 35,000
C. 120,000
D. 700,000

Answer: B

2. About how many deaths occur by suicide each year around the world?
A. 10,000
B. 30,000
C. 500,000
D. 1,000,000

Answer: D

3. About how many suicides are attempted annually in the United States?
A. 30,000
B. 120,000
C. 600,000
D. 2 million

Answer: C

4. Why do many people think that estimates of the rates of suicide are inaccurate?
A. Insurance companies pay extra life insurance in cases of suicide.
B. Many reported suicides are probably really accidents.
C. The stigma associated with suicide make people hesitate to report it.
D. Suicide is not a DSM-IV-TR category.

Answer: C

5. What is a parasuicide?
A. a failed attempt to commit suicide
B. a murder followed by a successful suicide
C. a successfully committed suicide on the first try
D. a successfully committed suicide after many tries

Answer: A

6. Ignoring fatigue, a driver finally falls asleep at the wheel, crashes, and dies. The driver's death
would most accurately be described as:
A. self-inflicted but not suicide.
B. self-inflicted and suicide.
 C. not self-inflicted and not suicide.
D. not self-inflicted and suicide.

Answer: A

7. In his definition of suicide, Schneidman includes all of the following factors except that it:
A. involves conscious effort.
B. is self-inflicted.
C. results from depression or emotional distress.
D. involves direct effort.

Answer: C

8. Sylvia shot herself by placing the gun barrel in her mouth, in the middle of a dense woods, where
she knew she wouldn't be heard or found. Sylvia is an example of what Shneidman refers to as a:
A. death seeker.
B. death initiator.
C. death ignorer.
D. death darer.

Answer: A

9. What is the critical way in which the death seeker differs from the death darer, according to
Shneidman? Death seekers:
A. speed along a death sure to occur naturally.
B. are ambivalent about their death.
C. intend to end their lives with their action.
D. believe that death will not end their existence.

Answer: C

10. Ambivalent about dying, Jay repeatedly played a dangerous game involving gas and a cigarette
lighter. Jay is an example of what Shneidman refers to as a:
A. death seeker.
B. death initiator.
C. death ignorer.
D. death darer.

Answer: D

11. Cecil and Jeanne, teenagers, made a love pact, jumping from a cliff in order to be with each other
for eternity. Cecil and Jeanne are examples of what Shneidman refers to as:
A. death seekers.
B. death initiators.
C. death ignorers.
D. death darers.
Answer: C

12. According to Edwin Shneidman, people who commit suicide with clarity and commitment, yet who
believe that they are simply facilitating a process that is already under way, are called:
A. death darers.
B. death seekers.
C. death ignorers.
D. death initiators.

Answer: D

13. Ernest Hemingway was a physically strong, proud man who developed grave concerns about his
failing body. Depressed about his progressive illness, he intentionally ended his life. Edwin
Shneidman would term Hemingway a:
A. death darer.
B. death seeker.
C. death ignorer.
D. death initiator.

Answer: D

14. What is the critical way in which death initiators differ from other categories, according to
Shneidman?
A. They employ more lethal means.
B. They do not intend to end their lives with their action.
C. They believe that death will not end their existence.
D. They believe they are merely speeding up an ongoing process.

Answer: D

15. According to Shneidman, how do death ignorers primarily differ from other categories?
A. They employ more lethal means.
B. They intend to end their lives with their action.
C. They believe death will not end their existence.
D. They believe they are merely speeding up an ongoing process.

Answer: C

16. Miguel lost all of his family when his village was bombed. He throws himself off a cliff to die, in
order to be reunited with them. Shneidman would classify Miguel as a:
A. death darer.
B. death seeker.
C. death ignorer.
D. death initiator.

Answer: C

17. According to Shneidman, people who are ambivalent about their intent to die and whose actions
 leading to death do not guarantee death (e.g., swimming in shark-infested waters) are called:
A. death darers.
B. death seekers.
C. death ignorers.
D. death initiators.

Answer: A

18. According to Shneidman, how do death darers primarily differ from other categories?
A. They are ambivalent about their deaths.
B. They intend to end their lives with their actions.
C. They believe that death will not end their existence.
D. They believe they are merely speeding up an ongoing process.

Answer: A

19. Knowing she was terminally ill, Bonnie swallowed a handful of barbiturates in order to save herself
and her family from the final painful months of life. Bonnie is an example of what Shneidman
refers to as a:
A. death seeker.
B. death initiator.
C. death ignorer.
D. death darer.

Answer: B

20. A teenager's hands and arms are covered with self-inflicted burns, and the teenager seems almost
addicted to this destructive behavior. The self-inflicted burns would MOST likely be classified as:
A. self-injury, a variety of Shneidman's subintentional death classification.
B. self-injury, which is not a variety of Shneidman's subintentional death classification.
C. a variety of Shneidman's death darer classification.
D. a variety of Shneidman's death seeker classification.

Answer: A

21. Retrospective analysis of suicide typically would include:

A. interviews with the person who attempted suicide.
B. interviews with people who know the person who attempted suicide.
C. interviews with people who knew the person who committed suicide.
D. suicide interventions with people acquainted with the person who committed suicide, and
who might attempt copycat suicides.

Answer: C

22. Retrospective analysis involves:

 A. interviewing those thought to be at high risk for suicide.
B. developing a suicide profile, especially for mental patients and prisoners.
C. studying people who survive suicide attempts.
D. gathering information about a suicide victim's past.

Answer: D

23. Which of the following is an example of retrospective analysis?

A. Researchers ask college students to write suicide notes in order to study what they think is
the motivation for suicide.
B. Therapists who have patients who committed suicide are interviewed to look for
commonalties.
C. Adolescents at high risk for suicide are treated through a suicide prevention center.
D. Those who have made suicide attempts are part of a suicide education program.

Answer: B

24. At the time of the suicide, a suicide victim was receiving psychotherapy, and left a clear suicide
note. This suicide victim is:
A. the most common kind; most suicide victims are in psychotherapy, and leave a suicide
note.
B. a somewhat uncommon kind; most suicide victims are in psychotherapy, but do not leave
a suicide note.
C. a somewhat uncommon kind; about half of suicide victims have never received
psychotherapy, but do leave a suicide note.
D. the least common kind; about half of suicide victims have never received psychotherapy,
and do not leave a suicide note.

Answer: D

25. In some religious traditions, people whip themselves or force themselves into uncomfortable
physical positions as forms of repenting for their own or others' sins. These self-injurious
behaviors MOST closely fit which of Shneidman's categories?
A. death-darer
B. subintentional death
C. death initiator
D. death ignorer

Answer: B

26. Which of the following is arranged in order of suicide rate from highest to lowest?
A. Japan, United States, Mexico
B. United States, Spain, Germany
C. England, Canada, United States
D. Egypt, Mexico, Russia

Answer: A
27. One of the factors that is believed to account for differences in the suicide rates of different
countries is:
A. climate.
B. religious affiliation and beliefs.
C. prevalence of mental disorders.
D. governmental regulations regarding suicide.

Answer: B

28. Which of the following aspects of religion is most closely linked to suicide?
A. doctrine
B. fellowship
C. devoutness
D. denomination

Answer: C

29. Which of the following statements is most accurate about the relationship between religion and
suicide?
A. A country's economic status is a more important predictor of suicide rates than its major
religion.
B. The degree of one's devoutness is a more important predictor of suicide than one's specific
religion.
C. Countries that have high Jewish and Muslim populations also have high suicide rates.
D. Religion is a more important predictor of suicide risk for women than it is for men,
especially in Catholic countries.

Answer: B

30. Who of the following has two positive risk factors for suicide?
A. a devout woman
B. a married man
C. a divorced woman
D. an atheist man

Answer: D

31. Which of the following statements is not true regarding gender and suicide?
A. Women attempt suicide more often than men.
B. Men use more lethal means to commit suicide than women.
C. Women succeed at committing suicide more often than men.
D. The elderly are more likely to commit suicide than children.

Answer: C

32. What is the cause of death in the majority of male suicides in the United States?
 A. hanging
B. car accidents
C. drug overdose
D. use of firearms

Answer: D

33. Given the research on suicide, which of the following would be the most surprising (inconsistent
with research results) case?
A. a woman who stabbed and then hanged herself
B. a woman who attempted suicide but did not succeed
C. a man who shot himself
D. a woman who killed herself with a drug overdose

Answer: A

34. Which of the following statements regarding suicide is true?

A. Native Americans have the highest suicide rate of any racial group in the United States.
B. The suicide rate for whites in the United States is the same as that for blacks.
C. Married people are more likely to commit suicide than adults who are single.
D. Men are more likely to attempt suicide than women.

Answer: A

35. According to current estimates, the suicide rate is highest in the United States among:
A. African Americans.
B. Euro-Americans.
C. Native Americans.
D. Asian Americans.

Answer: C

36. How likely are women to use a gun to commit suicide?

A. Less than 5% of women who commit suicide use guns.
B. About 20% of women who commit suicide use guns.
C. About 40% of women who commit suicide use guns.
D. Over 2/3 of women who commit suicide use guns.

Answer: C

37. Assume that a community is made up of almost exactly equal numbers of these four groups:
African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and white Americans, and that everyone
is of the same socioeconomic status. Approximately what percent of suicides would you expect to
be committed by white Americans?
A. 1/20 or 5%well below the rates for the other groups
B. 1/4 or 25%about the same as the rates for the other groups
 C. 2/5 or 40%about double the rates for the other groups
D. 3/5 or 60%almost four times the rates for the other groups

Answer: C

38. In a community made up of equal numbers of African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanic
Americans, all of about the same socioeconomic status, someone has just committed suicide. Most
likely that person is:
A. African American.
B. Asian American.
C. Hispanic American.
D. about equally as likely to be African American, Asian American, or Hispanic American.

Answer: D

39. Which of the following does not make one at higher risk for suicide?
A. experiencing mood and thought changes.
B. learning about suicide in abnormal psychology.
C. having an alcohol abuse problem.
D. experiencing uncontrollable and repeated stressful events.

Answer: B

40. Commonly observed triggers for suicide include all of the following except:
A. being in therapy.
B. heavy alcohol use.
C. modeling of someone who committed suicide.
D. stressful life events.

Answer: A

41. Which of the following is true regarding war veterans' risk of suicide once they return home?
A. War vets are about twice as likely to commit suicide as similar nonveterans.
B. War vets are no more likely to commit suicide than similar nonveterans.
C. War vets are a little less likely to commit suicide than similar nonveterans.
D. Family members of war vets, not the vets themselves, are at a higher suicide risk.

Answer: A

42. All of the following are examples of immediate stress except:

A. loss of a loved one through death.
B. natural disaster.
C. loss of a job.
D. serious illness.

Answer: D
43. Immediate stressors particularly common among those who attempt suicide include all the
following except:
A. occupational stress.
B. divorce.
C. death of a loved one.
D. stress from a flood.

Answer: A

44. Long-term stressors particularly common among those who attempt suicide include all the
following except:
A. serious illness.
B. occupational stress.
C. divorce.
D. an abusive environment.

Answer: C

45. Which of the following people would be at greatest risk of suicide?

A. someone who had been in poor health for years and is now terminal
B. someone who recently escaped from an abusive environment and is enrolled in school
C. someone who has had fewer than the average number of stressors in life
D. someone who is a devout Muslim

Answer: A

46. A correctional officer working in a jail should be most alert for suicides attempted:
A. in the first few hours after people are jailed.
B. 12-24 hours after people are jailed.
C. 2-3 days after people are jailed.
D. at least a month after people are jailed.

Answer: A

47. Which of the following occupations has a particularly high rate of suicide?
A. used-car salespeople
B. psychologists
C. priests
D. gourmet chefs

Answer: B

48. A person who sees life in right or wrong all or none terms is engaging in:
A. hopelessness.
B. dichotomous thinking.
C. psychache.
 D. blaming.

Answer: B

49. The mood and thoughts of suicidal people are most often characterized as:
A. anxious and irrational.
B. angry and aggressive.
C. sad and hopeless.
D. tense and manic.

Answer: C

50. An increase in which emotion is most often linked to suicide?

A. guilt
B. anger
C. anxiety
D. sadness

Answer: D

51. A friend of yours wants certain heavy metal songs banned because, your friend says, listening to
them will encourage suicidal tendencies. Your best reply, based on research, would be:
A. You're rightexperts and the courts agree about the potential danger.
B. It dependsexperts agree with you, although the courts have not found musicians liable.
C. It dependsexperts don't agree with you, although the courts have found musicians
liable.
D. It probably won't workexperts don't agree with you, and the courts have not found
musicians liable.

Answer: D

52. Based upon the available research, we can conclude that:

A. listening to particular kinds of music can trigger suicide.
B. failed suicide attempts may trigger listening to particular kinds of music.
C. teenagers are usually listening to particular kinds of music when they commit suicide.
D. sometimes listening to particular kinds of music is related to suicide attempts.

Answer: D

53. The current rating system for CD and music download lyrics was instituted:
A. decades before people became concerned about links between listening to music and
suicide attempts.
B. shortly before people became concerned about links between listening to music and suicide
attempts.
C. coincidentally at about the same time people became concerned about links between
listening to music and suicide attempts.
 D. in part to address people's concerns about links between listening to music and suicide
attempts.

Answer: D

54. About what percentage of people who commit suicide use alcohol just prior to the act?
A. 10%
B. 20%
C. 35%
D. 70%

Answer: D

55. Of people who use alcohol just prior to committing suicide, what percentage are actually
intoxicated?
A. 10%
B. 15%
C. 25%
D. 35%

Answer: C

56. Which is true about alcohol use and suicide?

A. Most people who attempt suicide drink alcohol just before the act.
B. About one-fourth of people who commit suicide are legally drunk.
C. Alcohol impairs judgment and lowers inhibitions.
D. All the answers are correct.

Answer: D

57. Which one of the following is the most likely reason for the relationship between alcohol use and
suicide?
A. There is a chemical in alcohol that triggers a suicide response in the brain.
B. Alcohol is less well metabolized by those who are depressed.
C. Alcohol lowers inhibitions and impairs judgment.
D. Pound for pound, women get drunk on less alcohol than men.

Answer: C

58. Which mental disorders have been found to contribute to the greatest number of suicides?
A. mood disorders
B. sexual disorders
C. personality disorders
D. psychophysiological disorders

Answer: A
59. Who of the following is most at risk for suicide?
A. one with a panic or other anxiety disorder
B. one who is depressed and dependent on alcohol
C. one who is schizophrenic and developmentally disabled
D. one without a diagnosable mental disorder

Answer: B

60. Of the following alternatives, the least common predictor of suicide is:
A. physical illness.
B. hopelessness or cognitive rigidity.
C. depression.
D. alcoholism.

Answer: A

61. Although all of the following mental disorders are of concern for increased suicide risk, the one
least likely to be linked to suicide is:
A. depression.
B. posttraumatic stress disorder.
C. alcoholism.
D. schizophrenia.

Answer: B

62. Why is there such a strong connection between alcohol abuse and suicide risk? asks a friend of
yours. Based on the best available research, you reply,
A. Being trapped in substance abuse leads to suicidal ideation.
B. No one really knows for sure.
C. Actually, being suicidal most often leads to alcohol abuse, and not the other way around.
D. Actually, the connection is weak, at best.

Answer: B

63. A clinically depressed individual who has been threatening suicide finally shows diminishing of
depressive symptoms. This person's risk of committing suicide:
A. has increased dramatically; almost no one who is depressed commits suicide until she or
he is recovering.
B. may have increased, since the person may have the energy to act on the suicidal impulse.
C. probably has decreased, although a slight risk remains.
D. has decreased substantially; almost no one who is depressed commits suicide once
recovery from depression is under way.

Answer: B

64. Research indicates that suicides by people with schizophrenia are in response to:
 A. voices commanding them to kill themselves.
B. feelings of demoralization.
C. overdoses of antipsychotic drugs.
D. feeling of invincibility.

Answer: B

65. When a rash of suicides occurs in the aftermath of a celebrity's suicide or a case that has been
highly publicized by the media, behavioral theorists believe it is attributable to:
A. modeling.
B. helplessness.
C. folie a deux
D. hopelessness.

Answer: A

66. Assume that a recent local suicide attempt was clearly a case of modeling. The person who would
most likely model another's suicide would be a(n):
A. preteen.
B. teenager.
C. adult in his or her 30s.
D. adult in his or her 50s.

Answer: B

67. How can we reduce suicide risk for our kids? asks the high school counselor, the day after one of
the school's star athletes commits suicide. Your best answer, based on research is:
A. Postvention often helps.
B. There really is little you can do, other than watch the students carefully.
C. Close the school for a week, and let the students' parents help them deal with the loss.
D. Reverse modeling works best.

Answer: A

68. As a political protest, two activists leap from a bridge in a highly publicized double suicide. Those
most at risk for modeling these suicides are:
A. people with similar political points of view.
B. people with the opposite political point of view.
C. people in an unstable relationship with a significant other.
D. people with a history of emotional problems.

Answer: D

69. Media coverage that included the don't do it message, numbers for suicide prevention centers,
and interviews with suicide experts followed the suicide of:
 A. Marilyn Monroe.
B. the Jonestown members.
C. James Dean.
D. Kurt Cobain.

Answer: D

70. Which network was particularly helpful in preventing a large number of copycat suicides after the
death of Kurt Cobain?
A. MTV
B. PBS
C. ESPN
D. CNN

Answer: A

71. The leading theories designed to explain suicide:

A. are supported by a significant body of research.
B. address the full range of suicide acts.
C. satisfactorily explain suicidal behavior in the elderly but not the young.
D. are not supported by a significant body of research.

Answer: D

72. The explanation of suicide as due to loss of loved ones and self-directed aggression is consistent
with which theoretical perspective?
A. cognitive
B. humanist
C. behavioral
D. psychodynamic

Answer: D

73. Research supporting a Freudian view of suicide has shown that later suicidal behavior is related
to:
A. real, but not symbolic, losses in childhood.
B. symbolic, but not real, losses in childhood.
C. both real and symbolic losses in childhood.
D. neither real nor symbolic losses in childhood.

Answer: C

74. You must redirect your Thanatos, is a remark most likely made by a therapist with what
theoretical point of view?
A. sociocultural
B. biological
 C. psychodynamic
D. cognitive-behavioral

Answer: C

75. If the psychodynamic explanation for suicide is correct, then suicide rates should:
A. increase in a nation which is at war.
B. be higher in nations with low murder rates.
C. be lower in those who experienced symbolic loss as children.
D. be lower in those who experienced actual (real) loss as children.

Answer: B

76. The fact that very angry people are not significantly more suicidal than other people argues most
strongly against which explanation for suicide?
A. sociocultural
B. modeling
C. psychodynamic
D. biological

Answer: C

77. What kind of theory is Durkheim's theory of suicide?

A. cognitive
B. biological
C. sociocultural
D. psychodynamic

Answer: C

78. According to Durkheim, suicides by people over whom society has little or no control and who are
not concerned with the norms and rules of society are called:
A. anomic suicides.
B. egoistic suicides.
C. imitative suicides.
D. altruistic suicides.

Answer: B

79. A society that loses its basic family and religious core values, experiences large-scale immigration
of people with very different values, and fails to provide meaning for the life of its people is in
danger of an increase in what Durkheim calls:
A. egoistic suicide.
B. altruistic suicide.
C. anomic suicide.
D. intragroup suicide.
Answer: C

80. A society that honors those who kill themselves to defend their families or country, or because of
a value they hold dear, would have a higher rate of what Durkheim calls:
A. egoistic suicide.
B. altruistic suicide.
C. anomic suicide.
D. intragroup suicide.

Answer: B

81. Juan is a loner and an atheist. He does what he wants and is alienated from others. He feels life
isn't worth living and kills himself. According to Durkheim, he would be classified as an:
A. anomic suicide.
B. egoistic suicide.
C. imitative suicide.
D. altruistic suicide.

Answer: B

82. According to Durkheim, suicides by people who give up their lives so that another person they
love may live would be classified as:
A. anomic suicides.
B. egoistic suicides.
C. imitative suicides.
D. altruistic suicides.

Answer: D

83. Carlos died by intentionally stepping in front of a bullet that was intended for another young man,
for whom Carlos, as head of a platoon of soldiers in the Persian Gulf War, was responsible.
Durkheim would call this an example of:
A. anomic suicide.
B. egoistic suicide.
C. imitative suicide.
D. altruistic suicide.

Answer: D

84. Altruistic suicide is most likely to occur in a country that:

A. is experiencing great upheaval, disruption of values, and immigration.
B. honors those who kill themselves for a higher good.
C. has a number of ethnic minorities who are very religious.
D. has a high level of substance abuse.

Answer: B

85. A young man whose father and uncle committed suicide at about his age also commits suicide.
 Which explanation of suicide most easily explains the young man's suicide?
A. psychodynamic
B. sociocultural
C. biological
D. immediate trigger

Answer: C

86. Biological researchers have found a link between suicide and:

A. low activity levels of serotonin.
B. high activity levels of serotonin dopamine.
C. high levels of 5-hydroxyindoleactic acid.
D. elevated number of serotonin receptor sites.

Answer: A

87. The strongest direct support for a biological explanation for suicide comes from:
A. studies linking specific genetic mutations to suicidal tendencies.
B. studies of neurotransmitter levels.
C. family pedigree studies.
D. a Danish study of identical twins.

Answer: B

88. If a biological explanation for suicide is valid, then doing which of the following ought to lower the
possibility of a person attempting suicide?
A. removing the person from contact with a suicidal biological parent
B. removing the person from contact with a suicidal adoptive parent
C. gene-splicing to remove the suicide gene
D. raising the person's serotonin level

Answer: D

89. Biological researchers have found a link between suicide and:

A. high levels of serotonin.
B. high levels of serotonin dopamine.
C. high levels of 5-hydroxyindoleactic acid.
D. a reduced number of serotonin receptor sites.

Answer: D

90. In research on the relationship between serotonin and suicide, serotonin seems most related to:
A. aggression.
B. introversion.
C. selfishness.
D. shame.
Answer: A

91. Of the following individuals, the one MOST likely to commit suicide would be a:
A. 10-year-old with high serotonin activity.
B. 10-year-old with low serotonin activity.
C. 40-year-old with high serotonin activity.
D. 40-year-old with low serotonin activity.

Answer: D

92. Based on the evidence about suicide rates, which of the following intervention strategies should
prevent the MOST suicides?
A. intervention focused on middle-aged adultsthey have a fairly high suicide rate, and it is
rising relatively rapidly
B. intervention focused on childrenthey have a relatively low suicide rate, but it is rising
extremely rapidly
C. intervention focused on those over 75they make far more suicide attempts than other
age groups, although they have a low suicide rate
D. intervention focused on teenagersthey have the highest suicide attempt and suicide
completion rates of any age group

Answer: A

93. The age group least likely to commit suicide in the United States is:
A. children.
B. adolescents.
C. young adults.
D. the elderly.

Answer: A

94. You are asked to speak before a local elementary school's PTA about suicide attempts by the very
young. You should be sure to mention that suicide attempts by the very young often come right
after the very young have:
A. shown a sudden drop in interest in death in general.
B. run away from home.
C. experienced the birth of a sibling.
D. begun to ignore criticism from others.

Answer: B

95. The typical child who commits suicide is a:

A. boy who understands what death really is.
B. girl who understands what death really is.
C. boy who does not understand what death really is.
D. girl who does not understand what death really is.
Answer: A

96. Based on studies of suicide in children, the following cases would be the most surprising
(inconsistent with research results)?
A. a child who had previously run away and tried to take an overdose.
B. a child who had experienced family stressloss of a loved one, parental unemployment,
abuse.
C. a child who had no understanding of death.
D. a child who was especially withdrawn and lonely.

Answer: C

97. Adolescent suicides differ from suicides at other age levels in all of the following ways EXCEPT
that:
A. in addition to depression, many also experience anger and impulsiveness.
B. many experience significant loss before the suicide.
C. suicides may be triggered by more immediate stress, especially at school.
D. adolescents may be more suggestible and eager to imitate others.

Answer: B

98. The finding that more than 90% of adolescents who attempt suicide know someone else who has
attempted it provides a case for what process in suicidal actions?
A. modeling
B. reinforcement
C. unconscious conflicts
D. maladaptive thinking

Answer: A

99. Among teenagers who attempt suicide:

A. about 3% succeed the first time, and about half will try again.
B. about 3% succeed the first time, and about 10% will try again.
C. less than 1% succeed the first time, and about half will try again.
D. less than 1% succeed the first time, and about 10% will try again.

Answer: C

100. A U.S. teenager has just attempted suicide. Most likely, the teenager has:
A. not succeeded, and almost certainly will never attempt suicide again.
B. not succeeded, but may try again.
C. not succeeded, and almost certainly will attempt suicide again.
D. succeeded.

Answer: B

101. All of the following have been linked to increased suicide risk among teenagers, EXCEPT:
 A. intense competition for jobs and positions in college.
B. weakening family ties, and resulting alienation.
C. teenagers' uncritical access to pro-suicide sites on the Internet.
D. easy access to drugs and alcohol, and pressure to use those substances.

Answer: C

102. Some researchers suggest that teen suicide attempts occasionally occur so the suicide attempter
will receive some help. This suggestion is:
A. not true; suicide attempts usually do not result in the attempter receiving help.
B. supported by evidence showing that suicidal thoughts or acts are the most common
reason for admission to a mental hospital.
C. supported by evidence showing that virtually all suicide attempters later receive therapy.
D. neither supported nor refuted by the evidence. (There is no relationship between suicide
attempts and the attempters receiving help.)

Answer: B

103. Which of the following is true?

A. More teenagers than people at any other age group commit suicide.
B. Suicide is the leading cause of death among teenagers.
C. African-American teenage boys commit suicide at a higher rate than European-American
boys.
D. None of these statements are true.

Answer: D

104. The age group most likely to commit suicide in the United States is:
A. children.
B. adolescents.
C. young adults.
D. the elderly.

Answer: D

105. The percentage of successful suicide attempts among the elderly is about:
A. equal to the percentage of successful suicide attempts among adolescents.
B. twice as high as the percentage of successful suicide attempts among adolescents.
C. 10 times as high as the percentage of successful suicide attempts among adolescents.
D. 50 times as high as the percentage of successful suicide attempts among adolescents.

Answer: D

106. A developing body of research shows that antidepressant use in children and adolescents:
A. substantially increases overall suicide risk.
B. increases suicide risk for some individuals, but decreases the overall suicide risk.
 C. decreases suicide risk for some individuals, but increases the overall suicide risk.
D. does not lower suicide risk, as it does for adults.

Answer: B

107. Research prompted by the black box controversy about using second-generation
antidepressants with younger patients shows that taking second-generation antidepressants:
A. decreases younger patient suicide rates.
B. decreases younger patient suicide rates overall, although some individuals are more likely
to commit suicide.
C. increases younger patient suicide rates overall, although some individuals are less likely
to commit suicide.
D. has no predictable effect on suicide rates in younger patients.

Answer: B

108. Over the past couple of decades, the correlation between number of antidepressant prescriptions
and younger patient suicide rates has been:
A. nonexistent.
B. positive; as the number of antidepressant prescriptions increases, so does the younger
patient suicide rate.
C. negative; as the number of antidepressant prescriptions increases, the younger patient
suicide rate decreases.
D. first negative (in the 1990s), then positive (in the twenty-first century).

Answer: C

109. A friend says to you, You're studying abnormal psychology, what do the media have to do with
suicide among younger people (under 25 years old)? Your best data-based answer is:
A. Almost nothing, really.
B. Media coverage may provide models for some of those who commit suicide.
C. About half of those who commit suicide get the idea from the media.
D. About half of those who commit suicide get the specific method from the media.

Answer: B

110. In a city that contains 10,000 average teenagers, about how many would be expected to
commit suicide in a typical year?
A. one
B. three
C. five
D. over five

Answer: A

111. Cluster suicides may involve high suicide rates among those:
 A. visiting pro-suicide sites on the Internet.
B. who have a particular recessive gene combination.
C. who gather on high-stress occasions, such as funerals or court trials.
D. living on certain Native-American reservations.

Answer: D

112. For teenagers, the highest suicide rates are found among:
A. white Americans and American Indians.
B. American Indians and African Americans.
C. African Americans and Hispanic Americans.
D. white Americans and Hispanic Americans.

Answer: A

113. Today, the elderly make up about 12 percent of the population of the United States. The
percentage of suicides committed by the elderly in the United States is:
A. well below 12 percent, a rate lower than all other age groups.
B. a bit below 12 percent, a rate lower than most other age groups.
C. almost exactly 12 percent, a rate about the same as most other age groups.
D. well above 12 percent, a rate higher than most other age groups.

Answer: D

114. A couple has been married for almost 50 years, then one of them dies. The probability that the
surviving spouse will commit suicide:
A. is much higher than normal, and will remain higher than normal for months, or even
years.
B. is much higher than normal, but drops to normal levels within about six months.
C. doesn't change much at all.
D. drops substantially, especially if the couple had been having marital difficulties.

Answer: A

115. The spouse of an elderly individual in the United States has recently died; the individual was
experiencing clinical depression before the spouse's death. The suicide risk for this individual is:
A. moderately highdeath of a spouse, but not depression, is related to an elevated suicide
risk.
B. very highboth death of a spouse and depression are related to an elevated suicide risk.
C. moderately highdepression, but not death of a spouse, is related to an elevated suicide
risk.
D. normalsuicide risk among the elderly is largely independent of these factors.

Answer: B

116. Why might the suicide rate among elderly Native Americans be low?
 A. religious fervor
B. overcoming the rage of youth
C. the value the culture places on the elderly
D. This group overall has a very low suicide rate compared to whites.

Answer: C

117. In 1997, Oregon passed the Death with Dignity Act, which allows doctor-assisted suicide for
persons with terminal illnesses. Since 1997, how many Oregonians with terminal illness have
ended their lives each year?
A. a few
B. a few dozen
C. a few hundred
D. a few thousand

Answer: B

118. A friend of yours says, Yes, I support the right of people to commit suicide, especially if they
are in a lot of pain, or don't have long to live. In the United States, your friend's opinion is:
A. very uncommon; over 75 percent of people oppose the right to commit suicide under any
circumstances.
B. somewhat uncommon; slightly under half of people oppose the right to commit suicide
under any circumstances.
C. common; over two thirds of people support the right to commit suicide under those
circumstances.
D. almost universal; virtually all people support the right to commit suicide under those
circumstances.

Answer: C

119. Some believe that allowing terminally ill elderly people to legally commit suicide will lead to a
perceived duty to die, involving:
A. elderly people committing suicide because they think they should.
B. family members of the terminally ill elderly becoming increasingly involved in the suicide
process.
C. subtle pressure on people to sign contracts saying they will commit suicide under certain
conditions.
D. younger and younger people wanting the right to commit suicide legally.

Answer: A

120. What works best to keep suicidal people from following through? asks a friend. Which of the
following, would be the correct answer to this question?
A. There are very good drugs one could use.
B. All therapies are about equally effective.
C. Try cognitive-behavioral therapy.
D. Actually, no therapy works very well.
Answer: C

121. Treatment for suicide attempters:

A. appears not to be effective.
B. typically involves medical and psychological care.
C. is provided in about 90% of the cases.
D. shows that the cognitive group method is most successful.

Answer: B

122. Suicide prevention programs:

A. involve the use of paraprofessionals.
B. offer crisis interventions.
C. are often found in emergency rooms as well as clinics.
D. include paraprofessionals, crisis interventions, and are found in emergency rooms and
clinics.

Answer: B

123. Suicide prevention centers:

A. are run on the AA model, using suicide survivors.
B. are hospitals for those who have attempted suicide.
C. may deliver services over the phone using paraprofessionals.
D. are declining in number in the United States.

Answer: C

124. At a suicide prevention center, you hear the following from the counselor. Hello. I am interested
in you as a person and am going to stay on the phone with you as long as you wantall night,
maybe. Which one of the goals and techniques does it best represent?
A. formulating a plan
B. assessing suicide potential
C. understanding and clarifying the problem
D. establishing a positive relationship

Answer: D

125. At a suicide prevention center, you hear the following from the counselor. Can you tell me what
you think are the most important factors that are making you feel hopeless right now? If you
could change three things about your life, what would they be? Which of the goals and
techniques of suicide prevention does this quote best represent?
A. formulating a plan
B. assessing suicide potential
C. understanding and clarifying the problem
D. assessing and mobilizing the caller's resources

Answer: C
126. At a suicide prevention center, you hear the following from the counselor. Do you have a gun?
Is it loaded and do you know how to use it? Which one of the goals and techniques does it best
represent?
A. assessing suicidal potential
B. understanding and clarifying the problem
C. establishing a positive relationship
D. assessing and mobilizing the caller's resources

Answer: A

127. At a suicide prevention center, you hear the following from the counselor. Have you ever tried
to commit suicide in the past? [If yes] How did you try to do it? Which one of the goals and
techniques does it best represent?
A. formulating a plan
B. assessing suicide potential
C. establishing a positive relationship
D. assessing and mobilizing the caller's resources

Answer: B

128. When answering the telephone of a suicide hot line, the first step for the counselor is to:
A. formulate a plan.
B. establish a positive relationship.
C. understand and clarify the problem.
D. assess the caller's suicide potential.

Answer: B

129. At a suicide prevention center, you hear the following from the counselor. Who can you think of
who might be able to come over and stay with you for a few hours? Which of the goals and
techniques of suicide prevention does the quote best represent?
A. assessing suicide potential
B. understanding and clarifying the problem
C. establishing a positive relationship
D. assessing and mobilizing the caller's resources

Answer: D

130. At a suicide prevention center, you hear the following from the counselor. Will you promise me
that you will call again if you ever feel like killing yourself again? Which one of the goals and
techniques of suicide prevention does this quote best represent?
A. formulating a plan
B. assessing suicide potential
C. understanding and clarifying the problem
D. assessing and mobilizing the caller's resources

Answer: A
131. When talking with a potential suicidal individual on a suicide hot line, the final step for the
counselor is to:
A. formulate a plan.
B. establish a positive relationship.
C. understand and clarify the problem.
D. assess the caller's suicide potential.

Answer: A

132. Reports indicate that if someone is a member of an online community and threatens to commit
suicide online, the other members of the online community will:
A. immediately contact 911 services, and try to talk the person out of the suicide attempt.
B. act as though they are watching a TV drama, and urge the person to follow through with
the suicide.
C. ignore the person threatening suicide, directing the online chat to other topics.
D. respond in many different ways, including urging the person to commit suicide, and
contacting 911 services.

Answer: D

133. A typical caller to an urban suicide prevention center is:

A. elderly, male, white.
B. elderly, female, white.
C. young, male, African American.
D. young, female, African American.

Answer: D

134. One study showed that about what percentage of high-risk suicidal people who contact a suicide
crisis hot line later commit suicide?
A. 2%
B. 10%
C. 30%
D. 50%

Answer: A

135. Which statement about the successes of suicide prevention programs is most accurate?
A. People at greatest risk for suicide are most likely to call prevention centers.
B. Of those who call, fewer commit suicide than would be expected by chance.
C. Suicide rates are consistently lower in communities that have centers.
D. People thinking of suicide know about and readily call centers.

Answer: B

136. Suicide education programs typically focus on:

 A. those who have previously attempted suicide.
B. clergy who are often contacted by suicidal people.
C. students and teachers.
D. high-risk people who call hot lines.

Answer: C

137. The most well-developed insights on the causes of suicide come from the ______ model.
A. biological
B. psychoanalytic
C. behavioral
D. sociocultural

Answer: D

138. The most helpful explanation for suicide, particularly regarding the general background factors
and triggers of suicides, come from the ______ perspective.
A. psychodynamic
B. behavioral
C. cognitive
D. sociocultural

Answer: D

139. Briefly describe the four types of people who end their lives, according to Shneidman. Then
provide an example of each type of suicide.

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140. Imagine that you are responsible for conducting a retrospective analysis of someone who has
committed suicide. Sketch out the method you would use and the types of information you
would try to gather. What are some disadvantages of this type of analysis?

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141. Suicide education might reasonably involve discussion of risk factors. Imagine that you are
talking with a group of resident assistants on a college campus. What are the five most
 important points about suicide risk that you would want to make with them?

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142. Please identify and describe at least five factors (e.g., living in an abusive environment) which,
based on research, appear to trigger suicide attempts.

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143. Suicide appears to run in families. Why might this be the case? Be sure to discuss biological,
psychological, and sociocultural explanations.

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144. In a paragraph, describe a child who would be at great risk for suicide. Be sure to indicate which
characteristics make the child at risk.

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145. Discuss at least three distinct ways in which the explanations for suicide in adolescents differ
from the explanations for suicide in adults. What factors make adolescents particularly at risk for
suicide.
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146. Some maintain that the suicide rate for the elderly is higher among white Americans than among
Native Americans because of the way the two groups value (or don't value) the elderly. Discuss
at least three distinct differences in the way the two groups treat the elderly that might
legitimately be related to the suicide risk.

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147. Imagine that you were judging a debate on the right to commit suicide. What are the three most
important points you would like for the debaters to make on both sides of this question (pro and
con)?

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148. The Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center has five goals for each call. List these and then
provide responses a counselor might make that reflect each goal (one counselor response for
each goal).

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149. According to Shneidman, people who have a clear intention of ending their lives at the time they
attempt suicide, and who are sufficiently clear-minded and committed to performing the act, are
called _______ .

Answer: death seekers

150. According to Edwin Shneidman, people who clearly intend to end their lives, but act out of a
conviction that the process is already under way and that they are simply hastening the process,
are called _______ .
Answer: death initiators

151. According to Shneidman, people who believe that their self-inflicted deaths will not mean the
end of their existence are called _______ .

Answer: death ignorers

152. A person who commits suicide but shows ambivalence in the act would be classified as a
_______ , according to Shneidman.

Answer: death darer

153. According to Shneidman, individuals who play an indirect, covert, partial, or unconscious role in
their own deaths may belong to the category called _______ .

Answer: subintentional death

154. The piecing together of data from people's pasts to understand their suicides is termed _______
.

Answer: retrospective analysis

155. The aspect of religion that is most highly related to suicide is _______ .

Answer: devoutness

156. When people feel that their present circumstances, problems, and negative moods will not
change, and this pessimistic belief contributes to suicide, the belief is called a sense of _______
.

Answer: hopelessness

157. Cognitive theorists believe that suicide may be linked to _______ , in which people develop a
pattern of viewing their problems and solutions in either/or terms.

Answer: dichotomous thinking

158. There is evidence that the likelihood of other suicides goes up when a celebrity commits suicide,
the media focus on a particular case of suicide, or a co-worker or colleague of a suicide-prone
person commits suicide. This contagious form of suicide has been attributed to the behavioral
principle of _______ .

Answer: modeling
159. According to the _______ view, suicide usually results from a state of depression and a process
of self-directed anger.

Answer: psychodynamic

160. Dr. Alberto focuses on social relationships and connections with other people in understanding
the suicide of an individual. Dr. Alberto seems to accept a _______ theoretical position.

Answer: sociocultural

161. Durkheim defined _______ suicides as those committed by people who are not concerned with
the norms or rules of society and who are not integrated into the social fabric.

Answer: egoistic

162. Darlene starves to death because she gives her meager food to her little sister. Durkheim would
classify Darlene as an _______ suicide.

Answer: altruistic

163. According to Durkheim, a person who commits suicide because his or her social environment
fails to provide stable structures to support and give meaning to life has committed _______
suicide.

Answer: anomic

164. Recent research on biological factors in suicide has linked it to low levels of the neurotransmitter
_______ in the brain.

Answer: serotonin

165. The mediating factor between serotonin deficiency and suicide is thought to be _______
tendencies, which have been linked to low levels of serotonin, rather than to depression.

Answer: aggressive

166. The age group most at risk for committing suicide in the United States is _______ .

Answer: middle-aged adults

167. Over the past several decades, the suicide rate for children in the United States has been
_______ .
Answer: rising

168. Should drug companies put a warning about suicide risk on packaging for antidepressant drugs?
Those who try to answer this highly debatable question are dealing with what is called a(n):
_______ .

Answer: black box controversy

169. During the past 50 years the emphasis has shifted from suicide treatment to _______ .

Answer: prevention or education

170. Suicide prevention centers are often staffed by counselors called _______ , who have no
previous training but are under the supervision of a mental health professional.

Answer: paraprofessionals