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Biomedical subjects

J Beskow

Publications and source records attributed to J Beskow.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Borderline personality disorder in young Swedish suicides.

Fifty-eight consecutive suicides committed between 1984 and 1987 by adolescents and young adults (ages 15 to 29 years) in an urban community were the subject of retrospective investigation through interviews with survivors and analyses of medical records. Classification in accordance with DSM-III-R showed a large proportion of axis II disorders. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) was found in 19 subjects (33%). When compared with subjects with other disorders, BPD subjects showed more antisocial traits and substance use disorders. Early parental absence, substance abuse in the homes, employment and financial problems, lack of a permanent residence, and sentence by court were also more frequent in BPD subjects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Ethical aspects of psychological autopsy.

Survivors of suicide victims are usually vulnerable to new traumatic experiences. Researchers who have used the method of psychological autopsy, including interviews with survivors, have paid little attention to ethical questions. The purpose of this article is to discuss such issues based on empirical data. Data and experiences from 3 studies of suicide among men (n = 271), women (n = 104) and youth (n = 58) are presented; the last 2 also include telephone follow-up by an independent researcher who measured the reactions of the interviewees to the main interviews. The ethical problems for 3 groups of agents (informants and other relatives, including the deceased; the researcher; and the research) are discussed according to 3 basic ethical principles (nonmaleficence, beneficence and respect for autonomy). Many of the interviewees still had signs of crisis reactions and thus constituted a vulnerable group. Nevertheless, drop-out was infrequent. Nor did we find any interviewee who was hurt by the interview, even if the possibility cannot be excluded in a few cases (less than 4%). Many of the interviewees seem to benefit from the interview. The interviews ought to be done by researchers prepared to meet people in crisis situations. The informants had different opinions on whether letter or telephone was the best method for first contact. Tape-recording was generally accepted. It seems to be possible and advisable to further change the design to better meet the needs of the interviewees, without violating the requirements of the researcher and the research.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1991

Reactions of survivors of suicide victims to interviews.

Fifty-eight consecutive suicides committed between 1984 and 1987 by adolescents and young adults (age 15-29 years) in an urban community were the subject of retrospective investigations by means of interviews with survivors. The outcome of the survivors' crisis reactions and the interviewees' capacity to participate in the interviews were evaluated. Two weeks after a main interview, a follow-up interview dealing with the interviewee's reactions to the investigation was performed. The cautious interview procedure seemed very acceptable to the survivors. An initial contact about 2 months after the suicide is recommended. Tape-recording was generally tolerated. There was a relationship between a satisfactory outcome of the crisis and good quality of the information given by the interviewee, but survivors in severe crisis may also cooperate well and give information with good trustworthiness and precision. An unsatisfactory crisis outcome was significantly more common in interview subjects with post-traumatic stress disorder according to DSM-III-R. Many interviewees benefit from the single interview.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1990

Psychological autopsies: methods and ethics.

Essential knowledge on suicide is derived from studies that include interviews with survivors. In this paper, we discuss methodological and ethical issues pertaining to the interview method known as "psychological autopsy"; the discussion is based on our application of the method to three studies of suicides in Sweden and on a review of other investigations. Interviewing a survivor is a delicate matter, and the integrity of the deceased, the integrity and health of the informant, and the psychological strain on the interviewer must all be taken into consideration. The interviewer should have clinical experience in order to be prepared to deal with interviewees in grief. Contact by telephone, followed by an introductory letter, provides an opportunity to meet survivors in an empathic manner and has a low rejection rate. A 2- to 6-month interval between suicide and interview is recommended. The survivor's reactions to the interview should be evaluated in order to expand the empirical base for ethical considerations. Studies on the validity and reliability of the method are necessary.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1976

Determination of monoamine and monoamine metabolites in the human brain: post mortem studies in a group of suicides and in a control group.

Different nuclei and regions of the brain from patients who had committed suicide and from controls were analysed for their content of monoamine and monoamine metabolites. There was a post mortem breakdown of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) which could be correlated to the time elapsed between the occurrence of death and autopsy. Homovanillic acid (HVA) and the monoamines did not decrease post mortem during the time observed (6-148 hours). There was no significant correlation between age and chemical variables in this investigation. There were no significant group differences between suicides and controls concerning dopamine, noradrenaline, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and HVA, 5-HIAA levels were significantly lower in the suicide group in six out of eight parts of the brain investigated. It was, however, also demonstrated that there was a longer time elapse between the occurrence of death and autopsy in the suicide group. The suicides came on average 48 hours later to autopsy than the controls. As there was a post mortem decrease of 5-HIAA, this time variable had to be kept constant when group differences were analysed. When the influence of this time variable was eliminated there were no longer any differences between suicides and controls. According to this investigation, there seem to be no differences in levels of monoamines and their metabolites between suicides and controls.

Adult↗