Citation

O'Connor RC. Arch. Suicide Res. 2003; 7(4): 297-308.

Affiliation

Suicidal Behavior Research Group, University of Stirling, UK

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, International Academy of Suicide Research, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The cry of pain hypothesis (Pollock and Williams, 2001; Williams, 2001) is a psychological model of suicidal behavior that extends existing theories of escape (Baumeister, 1990) and arrested flight (Gilbert and Allan, 1998). The model conceptualizes suicidal behavior as the response (the cry) to a situation that has three components: defeat, no escape and no rescue. In this study, the model was tested empirically in a case control study, by comparing suicidal patients and matched hospital controls on measures of affect, stress and post-traumatic stress. The logistic regression analyses yielded evidence to support the model. The implications for future research are described.