Extreme traumatisation and suicide notes from Lithuania: a thematic analysis

ENSuicide is a global concern, especially in countries with high rates of suicide; yet, there is a paucity of cross-cultural study. Lithuania is the country with the world’s highest rate of suicide. In study 1, a thematic or theoretical-conceptual analysis of 56 suicide notes drawn from Lithuania and the United States (U.S.), matched for age and sex, was undertaken based on Leenaars’ evidence-based multidimensional model of suicide. The results suggested that there were culturally common factors; yet, the factors were more extreme in the Lithuanian sample. It was suggested that extreme traumatisation might be an explanation. In study 2, an analysis of Lithuanian, U.S., and Korean martyrs, also a group showing extremism (Leenaars, Park, et al., 2010), was undertaken. The results showed that the Lithuanian notes and the martyr notes were more the same than different in comparison with the U.S. in terms of extremism, not in terms of the presence or absence of the major psychological factors or characteristics in suicide. A question raised is whether the findings are related to extreme traumatisation, such as genocide. Keywords: suicide, suicide notes, Lithuania, extreme traumatisation, martyrs. [From the publication]

• Psichologija / Psychology
• Sociologija / Sociology