engleski

THE MEANING OF LIFE AND SUICIDALITY IN WAR VETERANS

Objectives: Purpose of the study was to collect information that would serve as starting point for discussion on correlation between the meaning in life and suicidality. The relation between meaning in life and morality and mental health is complicated, and therefore the meaning in life can be regarded as a precursor of psychological health of an individual, what may be a valuable information in clinical practice. Material and Methods: The questionnaire Life regard index (LRI) was used in the survey (Battista and Almond, 1973). The authors compared answers of two groups of subjects war veterans, suicidal and non-suicidal. The veterans were all men, to total No=300. Results showed that there is statistically significant difference between these two groups in almost all LRI questions, with inverse proportionality in frequency of choosing between five offered possibilities (I do not agree – I mostly disagree – I have no opinion – I mostly agree – I agree). The experience of meaningful life changes with time under the influence of age and life events. In the context of our profession, they show us our sphere of action. Conclusions: This study confirmed that, due to life events, the experience of meaning in life changes over a lifetime toward negativism and pessimism, and becomes a risk factor for suicide. However, this change in attitudes is not irreversible, for there is a room for active contribution in attempting to change these attitudes, primarily educational and social therapy interventions.

suicidality; prediction; prevention; evaluation; psychiatric assessment techniques.

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