Roczniki Filozoficzne

Volume 23, Issue 4, 1975

Psychologia

The Affirmation of Life in Suicide Cases

This article is concerned with the problem of the affirmation of life in youth, after attempted suicide. It may seem that attempts of suicide are always related with the lack of understanding the sense of life, with the negation of its value, with the lack of goals and aspirations - the lack of affirming life. The attempt to answer this question is the analysis of given facts from a study of 40 attempted suicide cases. The ages of those studied are between 15 and 25 years old. Among those studied 42. 50 % were males and 57. 50 % were females. With regards to education, the group was not homogeneous. 70 % had secondary schooling, 17 50 % had higher and incomplete higher education, and 12. 50 % registered primary shooling. All patients were tested according to the Purpose of Life Test (PLT) developed by.L. Crumbough and L. Macholik. The tests were administered at a hospital, possibly within a short time after the attempted suicide. The results obtained in Section I of the test, vacillate within the bounds of 42-128 points, with a medium of M = 90. 65 and a = 18.82. Comparing them with American norms we find that 42.50 % of those tested have a strong feeling of the sense of life, while 57.50 % of the patients have in varying degrees lost this sense. For most of those tested, the negation of life is not very strong, and concerns only certain aspects of life. Further analyses of the collected material indicate, the possession of numerous goals and aspirations by the tested people. 70 % of the attempted suicide cases see chances for finding their place in life, have destinet goals, plans and aspirations. Only 7. 50 % claim that they have no goals or aspirations. Moreover, most of the tested persons think that their life has sense and is purposeful. Youthful suicide attempts are not always connected with the lack of the affirmation of life, with the lack of concrete goals and aspirations