Suicide Conceptualization in Adolescents through Semantic Networks

Authors: K. P. Valdés García, E. I. Rodríguez Fonseca, L. G. Juárez Cantú

Abstract:

Suicide is a global, multidimensional and dynamic problem of mental health, which requires a constant study for its understanding and prevention. When research of this phenomenon is done, it is necessary to consider the different characteristics it may have because of the individual and sociocultural variables, the importance of this consideration is related to the generation of effective treatments and interventions. Adolescents are a vulnerable population due to the characteristics of the development stage. The investigation was carried out with the objective of identifying and describing the conceptualization of adolescents of suicide, and in this process, we find possible differences between men and women. The study was carried out in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. The sample was composed of 418 volunteer students aged between 11 and 18 years. The ethical aspects of the research were reviewed and considered in all the processes of the investigation with the participants, their parents and the schools to which they belonged, psychological attention was offered to the participants and preventive workshops were carried in the educational institutions. Natural semantic networks were the instrument used, since this hybrid method allows to find and analyze the social concept of a phenomenon; in this case, the word suicide was used as an evocative stimulus and participants were asked to evoke at least five words and a maximum 10 that they thought were related to suicide, and then hierarchize them according to the closeness with the construct. The subsequent analysis was carried with Excel, yielding the semantic weights, affective loads and the distances between each of the semantic fields established according to the words reported by the subjects. The results showed similarities in the conceptualization of suicide in adolescents, men and women. Seven semantic fields were generated; the words were related in the discourse analysis: 1) death, 2) possible triggering factors, 3) associated moods, 4) methods used to carry it out, 5) psychological symptomatology that could affect, 6) words associated with a rejection of suicide, and finally, 7) specific objects to carry it out. One of the necessary aspects to consider in the investigations of complex issues such as suicide is to have a diversity of instruments and techniques that adjust to the characteristics of the population and that allow to understand the phenomena from the social constructs and not only theoretical. The constant study of suicide is a pressing need, the loss of a life from emotional difficulties that can be solved through psychiatry and psychological methods requires governments and professionals to pay attention and work with the risk population.

Keywords: Adolescents, semantic networks, speech analysis, suicide.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2643931

References:

[1] Amador Rivera, G. H. (2015). Suicidio: Consideraciones Históricas. Revista Médica La Paz, 21, 91-98.
[2] Andrade Salazar, J. A. (2012). Aspectos psicosociales del comportamiento suicida en adolescentes. Revista Electrónica de Psicología Iztacala, 15(2), 688-721.
[3] Andrade Salazar, J. A., Téllez, C. H., & Giraldo Blanco, L. A. (2013). La autopsia psicológica en Colombia: exploración psicobiográfica del suicidio. Revista Internacional de Psicología, 12(2).
[4] Burgos Mata, Á. (2006). La autopsia psicológica. Revista de Ciencias Jurídicas (110), 69-87.
[5] Castro, M. E., & Llanes, J. (2008). ¿Por qué prevención selectiva? Liberaddictus(103), 143-148.
[6] Córdova Osnaya, M., Rosales Pérez, J. C., & Rosales, A. (2016). Significado Psicológico De Los Términos Morir Y Quitarse La Vida En Jóvenes Mexicanos Universitarios. Enseñanza e Investigación en Psicología, 21(1), 106-112.
[7] Corpas Nogales, J. M. (2011). Aproximación social y cultural al fenómeno del suicidio. Comunidades étnicas amerindias. Gazeta de Antropología, 27(2), Artículo 33.
[8] Chávez-Hernández, A.-M., & Leenaars, A. A. (2010). Edwin S Shneidman y la suicidología moderna. (Edwin S Shneidman and modern suicidology). Salud mental, 33(4), 355-360.
[9] Ellis, A. (1998). Razón y emoción en psicoterapia (7º ed.). México: Desclée De Brouwer.
[10] García, I., Rodríguez Almada, H., Garbarino, A., Maggi, I., & Ciriacos, C. (2017). Autopsia psicológica: experiencias nacionales aplicadas al estudio del suicidio de niños y adolescentes. In C. Larrobla, P. Hein, G. Novoa, A. Canetti, C. Heuguerot, V. González, M. J. Torterolo & L. Rodríguez (Eds.), 70 años de Suicidio en Uruguay: 7 disciplinas, 7 entrevistas, 7 encuentros. Uruguay: Universidad de La República.
[11] Hernández Ávila, M., & Valdez Medina, J. L. (2002). Significado psicológico de vida y muerte en jóvenes. Ciencia Ergo Sum, 9(2).
[12] Hernández Sampieri, R., Fernández Collado, C. & Baptista Lucio, M. d. P. (2014). Metodología de la investigación (6a. ed.). México: McGraw-Hill.
[13] Hinojosa Rivero, G. (2008). El tratamiento estadístico de las redes semánticas naturales. Revista Internacional de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, SOCIOTAM, XVIII(1), 133-154.
[14] Isometsä, E. T. (2001). Psychological autopsy studies - a review. European Psychiatry, 16(7), 379-385. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0924-9338(01)00594-6.
[15] Jiménez Rojas, I. (2001). La autopsia psicológica como instrumento de investigación. Revista Colombiana de Psicología, XXX(3), 271-276.
[16] Kail, R. V., & Cavanaugh, J. C. (2011). Desarrollo humano. Una perspectiva del ciclo vital. (5º ed.). México: Cengage Learning.
[17] Maldonado, E. (2018). Menor de 15 años decide colgarse; es el suicidio 22 en la Región Sureste de Coahuila, Vanguardia. Retrieved from https://www.vanguardia.com.mx/articulo/joven-de-15-anos-decide-colgarse-es-el-suicidio-22-en-la-region-sureste-de-coahuila.
[18] Martínez G., Á. B., & Guinsberg B., E. (2009). Investigación cualitativa al estudio del intento de suicidio en jóvenes de Tabasco. Revista Facultad Nacional de Salud Pública, 27(1), 32-38.
[19] McDonald, M. (2001). Suicidal behaviour Social section, en G. E. Berrios y R. Porter, A history of clinical Psychiatry. The origin and history os Psychiatric Disorders. (pp. 625-632).
[20] O'Connor, R. C., & Nock, M. K. (2014). The psychology of suicidal behaviour. The Lancet Psychiatry, 1(1), 73-85. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(14)70222-6.
[21] Organización Panamericana de la Salud. (2014). Prevención del suicidio: un imperativo global. Washington, DC: OPS.
[22] Organización Panamericana de la Salud. (2016). Prevención de la conducta suicida. Washington, D.C: OPS.
[23] Papalia, D. E., Feldman, R. D., & Martorell, G. (2012). Desarrollo humano (12º ed.). México: McGraw-Hill.
[24] Pérez Pérez, R. M. (2016). Estudio epidemiológico del suicidio consumado en los partidos judiciales de Balaguer y Cervera, 1960-1990. Universidad de Lleida, Lleida, España.
[25] Polaino Lorente, A., Chiclana, C., López Cánovas, F. J., & Torrado, G. (2016). Fundamentos de Psicopatología.
[26] Quintanar, F. (2007). Comportamiento Suicida. Perfil Psicológico y posibilidades de tratamiento. (1° ed.). México, D.F: Editorial Pax México.
[27] Reyes Lagunes, I. (1993). Las redes semánticas naturales, su conceptualización y su utilización en la construcción de instrumentos. Revista de Psicología Social y Personalidad, 9(1), 87-97.
[28] Rodríguez Juan, E. (1997). Introducción histórica. En: La Conducta Suicida. Madrid: Ros Montalbán.
[29] Sociedad Mexicana de Psicología. (2007). Código ético del psicólogo. México: Trillas.
[30] Toro-Tobar, R. A., Grajales-Giraldo, F. L., & Sarmiento-López, J. C. (2016). Riesgo suicida según la tríada cognitiva negativa, ideación, desesperanza y depresión. Aquichan, 16(4), 473-486.
[31] Valdés García, K. P., Monroy Velasco, I. R., Cázares Palacio, I. M., Díaz Contreras, A. G., & Juárez Cantú, L. G. (2017). Reconstrucción social y psicológica postmortem de víctimas de suicidio mediante autopsia psicológica. Paper presented at the Psicología Integral, al servicio de la humanidad, Nayarit, Tepic, México.
[32] Van Orden, K. A., Witte, T. K., Cukrowicz, K. C., Braithwaite, S., Selby, E. A., & Joiner, T. E. (2010). The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide. Psychological review, 117(2), 575-600. doi: 10.1037/a0018697.
[33] Vera-Noriega, J. Á., Pimentel, C.E., & Batista de Alburquerque, F. J. (2005). Redes semánticas: aspectos teóricos, técnicos, metodológicos y analíticos. Ra Ximhai, 1(3), 439-451. 2.