Out of Options: A Cognitive Model of Adolescent Suicide and Risk-Taking (International Studies on Child and Adolescent Health)

223 Pages·2004·1.43 MB·English

by  Kate Sofronoff

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OUT OF OPTIONS
Thisbooktacklesanareaofadolescentbehaviorthatpresentsasignificantchal-
lenge for parents, teachers, and professionals the world over. Although much
hasbeenwrittenonthetopicofadolescentsuicide,weseecontinuedhighrates
throughout industrialized nations. The overlap between suicidal behaviors and
otherformsofseriousrisk-takingisarelativelynewavenueofresearchandgives
insightintothemotivationsofsomeadolescents.Thecognitivemodeldeveloped
and evaluated in this book provides further insight into the progression from
earlyproblemsfacedbyyoungpeopletotheseriousoutcomesofsuicideandrisk-
taking.Themodelallowsustosuggestpointsofinterventionforyoungpeople
andtodemonstratethat,althoughthereareoverlappingfeaturesbetweensuicidal
andrisk-takingbehaviors,attemptstointervenewouldtargetdifferentproblem
areasforsuicidaladolescentsthanforrisk-takingadolescents.
Kate Sofronoff is currently a Lecturer in Clinical Psychology in the School of
PsychologyattheUniversityofQueensland,Brisbane,Australia.Shecompleted
aPh.D.inclinicalpsychologyin1998intheareaofadolescentsuicideandrisk-
taking.Priortoundertakingstudiesinpsychology,sheworkedasahighschool
teacherfor10years,soshehasconsiderableexperienceworkingwithadolescents.
Dr.Sofronoffiscontinuingtopursueresearchinterestsintheareaofadolescent
behavioraswellasinotherareasofclinicalpsychology.
LenDalglieshisaSeniorLecturerinJudgementandDecisionMakingintheSchool
ofPsychologyattheUniversityofQueensland.From1981to1988,hewasaLec-
turer in the Department of Social Work, where his interest in child protection
decisionmakingdeveloped.Hehasgivenmanykeynotetalks,conferencepresen-
tations,andworkshopsonriskassessmentanddecisionmaking.Heiscurrently
preparingabook,RiskandDecisionsinChildProtection.Heisontheeditorialboard
ofChildAbuseReview.
RobertKosky,M.D.,isEmeritusProfessorofChildPsychiatryattheUniversityof
Adelaide.Hehaswrittenextensivelyintheareasofyouthsuicide,delinquency,
andearlyintervention.HewasChairoftheNationalCollaboratingCentresfor
the child and adolescent component of the Australian Government’s National
SurveyofMentalHealthandWellbeing.
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CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN CHILD AND ADOLESCENT HEALTH
SteeringCommittee:
KlausHurrelmann,UniversityofBielefeld,Germany
CandaceCurrie,UniversityofEdinburgh,UnitedKingdom
VivianB.Rasmussen,WHORegionalOfficeforEurope,Copenhagen,Denmark
JohnSchulenberg,UniversityofMichigan
TheISCAHseriespublishesbooksonthehealthanddiseasestatusofchildren,
adolescents,andyoungadultsandoninterventionstrategiesinmedicine,psy-
chology,sociology,publichealth,andpoliticalscience.Theseriesissupportedby
theinternationalresearchnetworkHealthBehaviorinSchoolChildren(HBSC)
andissponsoredbytheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO)RegionalOfficefor
Europe.
Inthisseries:
DiabeticAdolescentsandTheirFamilies,IngeSeiffge-Krenke
HowChildrenLearntoBeHealthy,BarbaraJ.Tinsley
GenderDifferencesatPuberty,ChrisHayward
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OUT OF OPTIONS
A Cognitive Model of Adolescent
Suicide and Risk-Taking
KATE SOFRONOFF
UniversityofQueensland
LEN DALGLIESH
UniversityofQueensland
ROBERT KOSKY
UniversityofAdelaide
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cambridge university press
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge cb2 2ru, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521812382
© Kate Sofronoff, Len Dalgliesh, and Robert Kosky 2005
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of
relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place
without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2004
isbn-13 978-0-511-21157-7 eBook (EBL)
isbn-10 0-511-21334-4 eBook (EBL)
isbn-13 978-0-521-81238-2 hardback
isbn-10 0-521-81238-0 hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls
for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not
guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
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Wededicatethisbooktothemanyyoungpeople
whohelpedusbytalkingtoussoopenlyatdifficult
timesintheirlivesandbyanswering
questionnairesthatwereundoubtedlytediousfor
them.Manyoftheseyoungpeopleespousedahope
thatbyhelpingustheywouldinsomewaybe
helpingotheradolescents.Althoughweknowthat
movementinthisareaisslow,therearecurrently
projectsandinterventionsinprogressthatmaysee
thishelpeventuateforsomeyoungpeople.
SpecialthanksmustalsogotoKateLilley,whose
workinproofreadingandeditingmadethefinal
draftofthismanuscriptpossible.
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