Mental pain and its relationship to suicidality and life meaning.
Shneidman (1996) proposed that intense mental pain is related to suicide. Relatedly, Frankl (1963) argued that the loss of life's meaning is related to intense mental pain. The first goal of this research was to test Shneidman's proposition by comparing the mental pain of suicidal and nonsuicidal individuals. Meaning in life and optimism are the polar opposites of suicidality and hopelessness, and the examination of these variables in relation to mental pain was undertaken to provide a test of Frankl's proposition. In two studies, a relationship between a newly developed measure of mental pain--the Orbach & Mikulincer Mental Pain Scale, 2002 (OMMP; see also Orbach, Mikulincer, Sirota & Gilboa-Schechtman, 2002)--and suicidal behavior and life meaning were examined. Results confirmed both propositions. Implications for the study of mental pain and suicide are discussed.
Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel. orbachi@mail.biu.ac.il
Israel
I
Orbach
Mario
M
Mikulincer
Eva
E
Gilboa-Schechtman
Pinhas
P
Sirota
D000328:Adult; D000341:Affective Disorders, Psychotic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012649:Self Concept; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology*; D026712:Value of Life