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Gernot Sonneck

Publications and source records attributed to Gernot Sonneck.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Trends in suicide rates of the elderly in Austria, 1970-2004: an analysis of changes in terms of age groups, suicide methods and gender.

BACKGROUND: Suicides of the elderly (persons aged 65 and older) make up a large proportion of total suicides. Since suicide rates of the elderly are highest in western populations, addressing them as a risk group in prevention plans has been recommended. In order to assess possible approaches to prevention strategies, this study examines high-risk groups of the elderly. METHODS: We examined official statistics on suicides that occurred in Austria between 1970-2004 (18,101 Suicides of the elderly). We analyzed time trends and differences in suicide methods as well as in age groups and both genders of the elderly. RESULTS: Three major high-risk groups were identified: elderly male suicides by firearms; elderly female suicides by poisoning, which occur more often with increasing age; and suicides of both genders by jumping from heights. CONCLUSION: Besides conducting treatment of psychiatric disorders of the elderly, restricting the means to commit suicide may help to prevent it among the elderly. Such specific prevention strategies should be implemented in national suicide prevention plans for the high-risk groups identified in this study.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2006

Suicide in Austrian children and young adolescents aged 14 and younger.

INTRODUCTION: Research on suicide in childhood and early adolescence is sparse. We investigated suicide cases of children and young adolescents in terms of prevalence, gender differences, suicide methods and monthly distribution during a period of 32 years. METHODS: Registered suicides aged 14 or younger occurring between 1970 and 2001 (n = 275) in Austria were studied. RESULTS: The mean suicide rate for 10 to 14-year-olds was 1.4 per 100,000 with a male-female ratio of 3.1:1. The total child and young adolescent suicide rate and boys' suicide rates decreased over the study period. However, there was no significant fluctuation in girls' suicide rates. Hanging was the predominant suicide method in both genders. Use of this method decreased steadily over the study period, whereas the percentage of suicides by other methods, i.e., jumping and firearms suicides increased. Greater number of suicides in children and young adolescents was observed during the months of April/May and October/November. CONCLUSION: Suicide rates of children and young adolescents in Austria are on the decrease, in accordance with a reported decrease in the general suicide rate in Austria.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Suicide among Viennese minors, 1946-2002.

OBJECTIVES: The first documented conference on suicide among school pupils was held by the Viennese Psychoanalytical Society in 1910, yet since then research on youth suicide in Vienna and Austria has been sparse. We investigated cases of suicide among Viennese minors over a period of 57 years in terms of prevalence, gender differences, suicide methods and monthly distribution. METHODS: We studied registered suicides among Viennese youths aged 19 or younger occurring between 1946 and 2002 (n = 683). RESULTS: The total suicide rate and the rates for male and female suicides among Viennese minors decreased over the period studied. The mean suicide rate was 6.2 per 100,000 (statistics on suicides per 100,000 were available only for the period 1953-2002), with a male-female ratio of 2.1:1. The predominant suicide method was domestic gas until its detoxification in Vienna. From 1976 jumping from a height became the most common suicide method of Viennese minors; it was also the predominant method among females, whereas hanging was the predominant method among males. Since 1996 the percentage of firearm suicides among males has doubled, and jumping suicides among females have tripled. A greater number of suicides among minors took place during the months of January, June, October and December. CONCLUSIONS: Suicide rates of Viennese minors are on the decline, corresponding to a reported decrease in the general suicide rate in Austria. In view of an observed recent increase in firearm suicides among males and jumping suicides among females aged 19 and younger, further monitoring as well as legal and environmental prevention measures are needed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Suicide by shooting is correlated to rate of gun licenses in Austrian counties.

OBJECTIVES: Shooting as method of suicide has increased considerably in Austria over recent decades and represented 23.5% of all suicides among men during the period 1990-2000. It is thought that the availability of guns could lead to their use in acts of suicide, and therefore we investigated the numbers of gun licenses (which constitutes ownership of guns and permission to carry a gun) in the nine Austrian counties and their correlation with suicides by shooting and other methods. METHODS: We studied registered suicides, including the method used, between 1990 and 2000 in Austria and the numbers of gun licenses held in the nine counties of Austria in the same period. RESULTS: We found a strong correlation between the average gun license rate for the period 1990-2000 and suicides by shooting (r = 0.967), and only very weak correlation, and for some of the years under investigation a negative correlation, with other methods of committing suicide (r = 0.117) and the suicide rate in general (r = 0.383). CONCLUSIONS: As shooting as a method of suicide has increased in Austria in recent decades, and is a highly lethal method, the finding that the shooting suicide rate is related to the extent of gun ownership deserves attention, especially as there is evidence that restriction of gun ownership is an important factor in suicide prevention.

Austria↗
PubMed2006

Youth suicide risk factors and attitudes in New York and Vienna: a cross-cultural comparison.

The prevalence of suicide risk factors and attitudes about suicide and help-seeking among New York and Viennese adolescents were compared in order to explore possible cross-cultural differences. Viennese adolescents exhibited higher rates of depressive symptomatology than their New York counterparts and had more first-hand experience with suicidal peers. More attribution of suicide to mental illness was reported in Vienna; yet Viennese youth were less likely than New York adolescents to recognize the seriousness of suicide threats. Help-seeking patterns of Viennese adolescents were influenced by their setting a high value on confidentiality. These cross-cultural differences may reflect the limited exposure of Austrian youth to school-based suicide prevention programs. The findings highlight the need of taking the sociocultural context into consideration in the planning of youth suicide prevention strategies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Medical and psychology students' disbelief in the inheritance of risk factors for suicide.

Despite convergent evidence for a role of genetic risk factors for suicide stemming from quantitative genetic (family, twin, and adoption designs), molecular genetic, and geographical studies, professionals, likely to be exposed to suicide, appear to disbelieve strongly in the inheritance of risk factors for suicide. In a sample of 1,093 Austrian medical and psychology students, about 80% of respondents did not endorse genetic risk factors for suicide, regardless of their sex, age bracket, field and year of study, and overall knowledge on suicide facts. This may reflect educational gaps, cognitive biases against genetic bases and explanations, or both. One single implication is that this information needs to be incorporated and covered more visibly in medical and psychology textbooks and curricula.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Epidemiology of suicide in Austria 1990-2000: general decrease, but increased suicide risk for old men.

OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: The epidemiology of suicide in Austria, 1990-2000, was investigated. RESULTS: In comparison with 1980-1990, an overall decrease in the incidence of suicide was found. The annual averages for male, female, and total suicide rates were 32.2, 11.0, and 21.3, respectively, representing decreases of 17.6%, 25.7%, and 19.3%. Decreases were observed in all age groups except for males aged 80-84 years, where the suicide rate was 123.5 (15.1% increase), and for males aged 85 years or over, where the rate was 148.9 (25.4% increase). Hanging is still the most frequently used suicide method in Austria, despite steady decreases during recent decades. During the 1990s, hanging was used in 47.5% of male suicides and 34.8% of female cases. Shooting is the next most common method for male suicides (23.5% of cases) and has become more frequent for both sexes. CONCLUSIONS: The main findings reveal that the decrease in suicide incidence in Austria is greater for females than for males, reflecting the increased suicide risk within the oldest male age groups. This population subgroup should thus be a particular target for suicide-prevention efforts in Austria. A further aim within a national strategy for suicide prevention should be to stop the increased use of shooting as a suicide method.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

A dose-response relationship between imitational suicides and newspaper distribution.

Although the Werther effect is well known, up to now a correlation between the differential distribution of particular media reports and subsequent imitational suicides could not be found. This study investigates a celebrity suicide by gun in Austria, which led to extensive reports in the largest Austrian newspaper, whose distribution shows substantial regional differences. The numbers of suicides by firearm in the 3 weeks after the reporting showed an increase over the 3 weeks prior. Regional analysis revealed a strong correlation of suicides by firearm and distribution of the newspaper (log odds ratios; r(9) = .62; p = .04, one-tailed). This dose-response effect explains 40% of the variability of changes. These results underline the influence of media reports on suicidal behavior.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Suicide and general elections in Austria: do preceding regional suicide rate differentials foreshadow subsequent voting behavior swings?

BACKGROUND: Suicide-epidemiological research on short-term effects of elections on national/regional suicide and parasuicide incidence has yielded contradictory evidence. Reversing the cause-effect relationship of this line of research we investigated whether preceding regional suicide rates are related to subsequent election results. METHODS: For Austria's 121 districts, we regressed averaged standardized suicide rates for the preceding period (1988-1994) on political parties' subsequent electoral gains/losses (1999-to-1995) while controlling for a set of 12 domain-relevant psychosocial/economic indices. RESULTS: Stepwise weighted multiple regression led to a significant model. The 1999-to-1995 electoral gains/losses of two opposition parties, together with the population variation caused by migration balance and by births/deaths balance, accounted for a substantial part (30%) of the variability in preceding district-level suicide rates. Various other social indices failed to contribute further substantial increments to this model. CONCLUSIONS: This finding suggests that variations in preceding regional suicide incidence might be mirrored in subsequent changes in voting behavior. A speculative post hoc explanation for the finding is offered: on a community level, suicide's aftermath might produce socially and politically alienated survivors of suicide who co-shape swings towards opposition parties in subsequent general elections. The finding calls for more research on suicide's long-term aftermath. LIMITATIONS: Within-country replicability and cross-national generalizability await further investigation. At present, the factor/mechanism accounting for this finding is neither well-established nor has been directly tested.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Parathyroidectomy improves concentration and retentiveness in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism.

BACKGROUND: Many patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) show symptoms of hypercalcemia syndrome, including psychologic and psychiatric disorders. The aim of this study was to find out whether parathyroidectomy improves cognitive performance with regard to concentration and retentiveness in patients with PHPT. METHODS: . Twenty patients with PHPT underwent psychologic testing preoperatively as well as 6 and 12 weeks postoperatively. Concentration under stress (timing) was proved by the d2-Test of Attention. To evaluate retentiveness, parts of the Wilde Intelligence Test were used. Patients were tested under identical circumstances with regard to time, location, and tester to minimize exterior influences. RESULTS: The patients' concentration enhanced significantly postoperatively (P <.001). The same applied to the total number of items processed (P <.01). Improvement of patients' ability to memorize numbers reached statistical significance when comparing the preoperative with the postoperative result (P =.0396); furthermore, there was a tendency to perform the tests more carefully and accurately (P =.069). CONCLUSIONS: Parathyroidectomy not only betters physical symptoms of PHPT but can also positively influence the patients' cognitive performance. These findings reflect the clinical observation of the patients' improved mental capacity after parathyroidectomy.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Somatoform symptoms, anxiety, and depression in the context of traumatic life experiences by comparing participants with and without psychiatric diagnoses.

The present study examines somatoform symptoms, anxiety and depression in connection with traumatic life experiences by comparing participants with and without psychiatric diagnoses. Significant group differences in the quantity of somatoform symptoms and the degrees of anxiety and depression could be found between participants with and without psychiatric diagnoses. Experience of sexual abuse leads to significantly more somatoform symptoms. Experience of repeated physical abuse as an additional factor significantly increased the depression score in all groups. This study reveals that the type of somatic complaint allows a prediction of the kind of traumatic life experience suffered. Physical abuse may be predicted by discomfort in and around the precodium, loss of appetite and stomach discomfort or a churning feeling in the stomach. Sexually abused participants reported significantly more anal pain, bad taste in the mouth or an excessively coated tongue, sexual indifference, and urinary retention. The findings of this study also revealed an association between depression, anxiety and somatoform symptoms and the type of traumatic life experience. The experience of physical and sexual abuse was found to be the most highly discriminative function.

Adolescent↗