Older women and mercy killing.

Mercy killing is usually defined as intentional killing, often by family members or friends, with the stated intent to end perceived suffering. International evidence suggests that mercy killing typically involves an older man killing his ailing wife. In this study, we examined U.S. cases of mercy killing recorded by The Hemlock Society for the period 1960-1993. We found that the typical case involved an older woman being killed by a man, often her husband, with her poor health as the justification for the killing. A firearm was often used in these incidents. These patterns of mercy killing are consistent with patterns of homicide-suicide among older adults. Future research should seek to understand why women are typically the targets, and men the agents of mercy killing.

Motives for suicide in suicide notes from women and men.

Suicide notes written by 16 adult women and 16 men were evaluated by 16 nonprofessional adult judges with regard to love or work problems as suicide motives. Consistent with current theory on gender and suicidal behavior, women and men did not differ in love or work motives.

Gender and physician-assisted suicide: an analysis of the Kevorkian cases, 1990-1997.

This study examines the seventy-five suicide cases Dr. Jack Kevorkian acknowledged assisting during the period between 1990-1997. Although these cases represent a range of regional and occupational backgrounds, a significant majority are women. Most of these individuals had a disabling, chronic, nonterminal-stage illness. In five female cases, the medical examiner found no evidence of disease whatsoever. About half of the women were between the ages of forty-one and sixty, and another third were older adults. Men's conditions were somewhat less likely than women's to be chronic and nonterminal-stage. The main reasons for the hastened death mentioned by both the person and their significant others were having disabilities, being in pain, and fear of being a burden. The predominance of women among Kevorkian's assisted suicides contrasts with national trends in suicide mortality, where men are a clear majority. It is possible that individuals whose death was hastened by Kevorkian are not representative of physician-assisted suicide cases around the country, because of Kevorkian's unique approach. Alternatively, the preponderance of women among Kevorkian's assisted suicides may represent a real phenomenon. One possibility is that, in the United States, assisted suicide is particularly acceptable for women. Individual, interpersonal, social, economic, and cultural factors encouraging assisted suicide in women are examined.

The gender paradox in suicide.

In most Western countries females have higher rates of suicidal ideation and behavior than males, yet mortality from suicide is typically lower for females than for males. This article explores the gender paradox of suicidal behavior, examines its validity, and critically examines some of the explanations, concluding that the gender paradox of suicidal behavior is a real phenomenon and not a mere artifact of data collection. At the same time, the gender paradox in suicide is a more culture-bound phenomenon than has been traditionally assumed; cultural expectations about gender and suicidal behavior strongly determine its existence. Evidence from the United States and Canada suggests that the gender gap may be more prominent in communities where different suicidal behaviors are expected of females and males. These divergent expectations may affect the scenarios chosen by females and males, once suicide becomes a possibility, as well as the interpretations of those who are charged with determining whether a particular behavior is suicidal (e.g., coroners). The realization that cultural influences play an important role in the gender paradox of suicidal behaviors holds important implications for research and for public policy.

Meanings of gender and suicidal behavior during adolescence.

In the United States, gender differences in suicidal behavior rates emerge during adolescence, when females are more likely to engage in suicidal behavior, but are less likely to die as a result of a suicidal act than males. These gender patterns of suicidal behavior are common but not universal, suggesting cultural influences. This article reviews the highlights of the research on cultural meanings of gender and suicidal behavior. Studies suggest that U.S. adolescents perceive nonfatal suicidal behavior as more "feminine" and less potent than killing oneself. Persons who are suicidal in response to a relationship problem are considered more "feminine" than persons who become suicidal in response to an achievement failure. Males are more critical and avoidant of suicidal persons than females, especially when the suicidal person is a male. These beliefs may play a role in decisions about suicidal behavior (what kinds of suicidal behavior are chosen, and under what conditions). Cultural narratives of gender and suicidal behavior may be particularly influential for adolescents because adolescents are in the process of defining their identity, and often take cultural messages about "appropriate" gender behavior more seriously and more literally than adults. The implications of the findings from the research on cultural meanings of gender and suicidal behavior for prevention programs are outlined.

What is a normal family? Common assumptions and current evidence.

The social and applied human sciences have been built upon the assumption that the "normal" family consists of a first-marriage conjugal couple cohabiting with biological children. It is taken for granted that the wife should be responsible for child and domestic work, and that the husband should be the family's economic provider and ultimate authority. In the professional literature such "traditional" family structure is often described as normal in the sense of most common, as well as normal in the sense of well-functioning. Current psychological, sociological, anthropological and historical studies, however, do not support the assumption that the "traditional" nuclear family is the most "natural," "common," and/or "healthy" form of family arrangement. The idealization of the "traditional" nuclear family has had implications for theory, research, mental health practice, and social policy. Scientists and practitioners have been slow to recognize pathology in "traditional" nuclear families. Families other than "traditional" nuclear ones have been rendered invisible or pathologized. It is time for contemporary social and applied human sciences to recognize that the "traditional" nuclear family is a culturally- and historically-specific construct. It is also time for contemporary social and applied human sciences to develop an account of, and a research agenda about, families that take into consideration their variations across time, place, social class, ethnicity, and culture.

Liberal or conservative? Gender, identity, and perception of historical religious positions.

Conservatism is often assumed to imply a continuity of values and positions between past and present. Previous research has demonstrated, however, that there are discontinuities between historical and contemporary political conservatism and that modern political conservatives endorse programs and legislation once regarded as liberal. Testing whether the same pattern may hold for religious conservatism was the purpose of this research. Perceptions of conservative positions in Christian history were assessed among young adults (N = 221). Results showed that individuals who identified themselves as conservatives were less likely to recognize past conservative positions on religious issues than individuals who identified themselves as liberals. These findings were not accounted for by lack of knowledge about religious history on the part of conservatives. Furthermore, women were more likely than men to accurately identify conservative and liberal positions of the past. The findings suggest that religious conservatism, like political conservatism, does not necessarily involve a continuity of positions between past and present.

Gender and the primary prevention of suicide mortality.

Primary prevention aims at reducing the incidence of a disorder. The first step in primary prevention involves documenting the magnitude of the problem and identifying risk factors. Consistent with primary prevention practices, we review the national and international epidemiological data on suicide mortality and then discuss the implications these data hold for primary prevention. Our approach is novel because we systematically examine the suicide epidemiology data by gender and culture. Suicide mortality appears to be highest among individuals (e.g., young adult married females in some Papua New Guinea regions; older adult, isolated, White males in the United States) for whom such behavior is culturally sanctioned. Thus, an important target for primary prevention may be local cultures of gender and suicide.

Typical and optimal aging in women and men: is there a double standard?

Gender stereotypes of typical and optimal, mentally healthy aging were examined with sixty-year-old and seventy-five-year-old women, men and gender-unspecified older people as target persons. Respondents were young adult individuals (N = 232) and their older adult relatives/acquaintances (N = 233). Perceptions of typical aging varied depending on the age of the respondent, the target gender and the target age. Gender stereotypes were more pronounced than age stereotypes: respondents described same-gender targets more similarly than same-age targets. Older women were rated higher on dimensions related to nurturance while older men were rated higher on intellectual competence and autonomy. Perceptions of optimal aging were not found to be affected by the gender of the respondent or target. Views of optimal aging, however, were influenced by respondent and target age. These findings suggest a double standard of aging for typical but not for optimal aging.

Gender and suicide in the elderly.

Gender is one of the most important predictors of suicide in the elderly. In North America, older women are less likely to be suicidal than older men. So far, suicidologists have either ignored gender differences or have focused on the presumed causes of older men's suicidal behavior. In this paper, the focus is on older women's low rates of suicidal mortality. On the basis of a review of the literature, several hypotheses are suggested. One is that gender differences in suicide mortality reflect differences in coping. Another hypothesis is that gender differences are influenced by gender norms of suicidal behavior. Directions for prevention are proposed.

Gender roles, suicide attempts, and substance abuse.

In this article, the focus is on a comparison of suicide attempts and substance abuse in the United States. It is argued that suicide attempts and substance abuse may function as psychologically equivalent but gender-specialized forms of self-injurious behaviors. Possible explanations for the gender segregation of suicide attempts and substance abuse are reviewed, and the benefits of crossover theories and treatments are presented.

Suicidal persons and their partners: individual and interpersonal dynamics.

The individual and interpersonal dynamics of 21 suicidal persons (15 females and 6 males) and their partners were investigated. Each couple was interviewed at the time of the suicidal person's psychiatric hospitalization following a recent episode of suicidal behavior or serious suicidal ideation. Each partner was administered two tests of individual functioning and one test of interpersonal functioning. The results revealed that the dynamics of these couples were characterized by complementarity at the level of overt individual functioning, and similarity at the level of covert individual functioning. Both partners in a couple tended to describe the suicidal partner as psychologically disabled and the nonsuicidal partner as well-functioning. However, the suicidal patients and their partners were similar in terms of covert individual functioning both showing a tendency toward anclitic, dependent object relations. The communication between the partners was found to be disturbed in a large majority of the couples. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of an integrative model of individual and interpersonal dynamics.