The Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicidal

Posted: October 17th, 2013

The Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicidal

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The Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicidal

Introduction

–   The article is about the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal that is currently being applied in cases of suicide. Based on statistics from the article, over one million people die due to suicide related cases (Ribeiro & Joiner, 2009).

–   The study also indicates what is currently happening in relation to the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide.

–   Additionally, the study gives directions for future studies to be done by different scholars in this field.

–   For this reason, the article is providing facts and reasons as to why people commit suicide using the interpersonal-psychological theory (Ribeiro & Joiner, 2009).

Major Points

–   People who commit suicide have the desire to commit suicide. This is where they are thinking about committing suicide and they want to commit suicide.

–   Desire alone is not sufficient to make someone commit suicide; the person must have the ability to commit suicide. In this case, the person is ready to inflict pain upon him or herself.

–   This desire is driven by two things. The first one is perceived burdensomeness. In this case, the suicidal victim tends to feel that he or she is a burden to the family members and close friends. The suicidal victim tends to feel that he or she not worth anything in this world.

–   The second thing is thwarted belongingness. In this case, the suicidal victim tends to feel that she cannot make any meaningful relationship with other people. This results the person becoming a loner in his or her life.

–   Currently based on the above facts about the theory, studies indicate that most people who have succeeded in committing suicide exhibit the character traits (Ribeiro & Joiner, 2009).

–   In addition, studies have also found out that the two factors of desire cannot work alone so that a person can commit suicide. The two work together though independent of each other.

–   Finally, the article has directed future researchers who are willing to continue with the study, to try as much as possible and find ways the interpersonal-psychological theory can be applied in the field of psychology (Ribeiro & Joiner, 2009).

My Opinion

–   I highly agree with the article because based on personal experience and what I have studied, many people who end up committing suicide exhibits all the above factors of interpersonal-psychological theory (Bryan, Morrow, Anestis & Joiner, 2010).

–   Secondly, I totally agree with the article because it has provided realistic evidence that has been proved and tested by scholars in the field of psychology (Stellrecht, Gordon, Van, Witte, Wingate, Cukrowicz, Butler & Joiner, 2006).

Class Response

            However, I believe that the topic is still open for discussion. This is because there are those people who might tend to disagree with the theory. One reason is that dead people cannot be put in the statistics since they are not there to contribute to the findings of the study. On the other hand, there are those who are supporting the article like me indicating that, according to the personal experiences people who often commit suicide have a poor relationship with other people including their family members. Additionally, they have a tendency of wanting to feel pain at all times. Therefore, people are free to contribute to the findings of the article.

Future directions

–   Based on the findings of the study, scholars who intend to continue with the study should consider expounding the theory further and coming up with more evidence. In this case, they should increase the scope of the study.

–   Secondly, they should consider looking for ways in which the theory could be applied, in the field of psychology, to reduce the rate of deaths by suicide.

–   Finally, they should consider adding more information on the different feelings that can lead to desire so that people can be educate and prevent these deaths by suicide from occurring.

References

Bryan, C. J., Morrow, C. E., Anestis, M. D., & Joiner, T. E. (2010). A preliminary test of the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior in a military sample. Personality and Individual Differences, 48, 3, 347-350.

Ribeiro, J. D. & Joiner, T. E. (2009). Interpersonal-psychological Theory of suicidal Behavior: Current Status and Future Directions. John Wiley and Sons. 65 (12), 1291-1299.

Stellrecht, N. E., Gordon, K. H., Van, O. K., Witte, T. K., Wingate, L. R., Cukrowicz, K. C., Butler, M., … Joiner, T. E. J. (2006). Clinical applications of the interpersonal-psychological theory of attempted and completed suicide. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62, 2, 211-22.