In an ever-more interconnected world (social, technological and environmental), no organisation can retain a competitive position and survive disruptions as an independent entity. This article provides a review of resilience literature in its widest context and later its application at an organisational level context. The origins of the concept are reported and consequently, the various fields of research are analysed. The concept is shown to remain essentially constant regardless of its field of enquiry and has much to inform the fields of organisation theory, strategy and operations management. This article identifies a number of areas for advancing resilience research, in particular: the relationship between human and organisational resilience; understanding interfaces between organisational and infrastructural resilience.

Resilience: the concept, a literature review and future directions

Background People with a history of self-harm are at a far greater risk of suicide than the general population. However, the relationship between self-harm and suicide is complex. Aims To undertake the first systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies of risk factors and risk assessment scales to predict suicide following self-harm. Method We conducted a search for prospective cohort studies of populations who had self-harmed. For the review of risk scales we also included studies examining the risk of suicide in people under specialist mental healthcare, in order to broaden the scope of the review and increase the number of studies considered. Differences in predictive accuracy between populations were examined where applicable. Results Twelve studies on risk factors and 7 studies on risk scales were included. Four risk factors emerged from the meta-analysis, with robust effect sizes that showed little change when adjusted for important potential confounders. These included: previous episodes of self-harm (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.68, 95% CI 1.38–2.05, K = 4), suicidal intent (HR = 2.7, 95% CI 1.91–3.81, K = 3), physical health problems (HR = 1.99, 95% CI 1.16–3.43, K = 3) and male gender (HR = 2.05, 95% CI 1.70–2.46, K = 5). The included studies evaluated only three risk scales (Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), Suicide Intent Scale (SIS) and Scale for Suicide Ideation). Where meta-analyses were possible (BHS, SIS), the analysis was based on sparse data and a high heterogeneity was observed. The positive predictive values ranged from 1.3 to 16.7%. Conclusions The four risk factors that emerged, although of interest, are unlikely to be of much practical use because they are comparatively common in clinical populations. No scales have sufficient evidence to support their use. The use of these scales, or an over-reliance on the identification of risk factors in clinical practice, may provide false reassurance and is, therefore, potentially dangerous. Comprehensive psychosocial assessments of the risks and needs that are specific to the individual should be central to the management of people who have self-harmed.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/C9D595168EDF06401A823E2E968915E1/S000712500024511Xa.pdf/div-class-title-predicting-suicide-following-self-harm-systematic-review-of-risk-factors-and-risk-scales-div.pdf

Predicting suicide following self-harm: systematic review of risk factors and risk scales.

Suicide mortality varies widely across age, sex, race, and geography, far more than does mortality from the leading causes of natural death. Unlike the tight correlation between cancer mortality and the incidence of cancer, suicide mortality is only modestly correlated with the incidence of suicidal acts and other established risk factors for suicidal behavior, such as major psychiatric disorders. An implication of this modest correlation is that the proportion of all suicidal acts that prove fatal (the case fatality ratio) must account for a substantial portion of the (nonrandom) variation observed in suicide mortality. In the United States, the case fatality ratio is strongly related to the availability of household firearms. Findings from ecologic and individual-level studies conducted over the past two decades illustrate the importance of accounting for the availability of highly lethal suicide methods in efforts to understand (and ultimately reduce) disparities in suicide mortality across populations.

https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031811-124636

Suicide mortality in the United States: the importance of attending to method in understanding population-level disparities in the burden of suicide.

Importance A recent increase in suicide in the United States has raised public and clinical interest in determining whether a coincident national increase in suicide attempts has occurred and in characterizing trends in suicide attempts among sociodemographic and clinical groups. Objective To describe trends in recent suicide attempts in the United States. Design, Setting, and Participants Data came from the 2004-2005 wave 2 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) and the 2012-2013 NESARC-III. These nationally representative surveys asked identical questions to 69 341 adults, 21 years and older, concerning the occurrence and timing of suicide attempts. Risk differences adjusted for age, sex, and race/ethnicity (ARDs) assessed trends from the 2004-2005 to 2012-2013 surveys in suicide attempts across sociodemographic and psychiatric disorder strata. Additive interactions tests compared the magnitude of trends in prevalence of suicide attempts across levels of sociodemographic and psychiatric disorder groups. The analyses were performed from February 8, 2017, through May 31, 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures Self-reported attempted suicide in the 3 years before the interview. Results With use of data from the 69 341 participants (42.8% men and 57.2% women; mean [SD] age, 48.1 [17.2] years), the weighted percentage of US adults making a recent suicide attempt increased from 0.62% in 2004-2005 (221 of 34 629) to 0.79% in 2012-2013 (305 of 34 712; ARD, 0.17%; 95% CI, 0.01%-0.33%; P  = .04). In both surveys, most adults with recent suicide attempts were female (2004-2005, 60.17%; 2012-2013, 60.94%) and younger than 50 years (2004-2005, 84.75%; 2012-2013, 80.38%). The ARD for suicide attempts was significantly larger among adults aged 21 to 34 years (0.48%; 95% CI, 0.09% to 0.87%) than among adults 65 years and older (0.06%; 95% CI, −0.02% to 0.14%; interaction P  = .04). The ARD for suicide attempts was also significantly larger among adults with no more than a high school education (0.49%; 95% CI, 0.18% to 0.80%) than among college graduates (0.03%; 95% CI, −0.17% to 0.23%; interaction P  = .003); the ARD was also significantly larger among adults with antisocial personality disorder (2.16% [95% CI, 0.61% to 3.71%] vs 0.07% [95% CI, −0.09% to 0.23%]; interaction P  = .01), a history of violent behavior (1.04% [95% CI, 0.35% to 1.73%] vs 0.00% [95% CI, −0.12% to 0.12%]; interaction P  = .003), or a history of anxiety (1.43% [95% CI, 0.47% to 2.39%] vs 0.18% [95% CI, 0.04% to 0.32%]; interaction P  = .01) or depressive (0.99% [95% CI, −0.09% to 2.07%] vs −0.08% [95% CI, −0.20% to 0.04%]; interaction P  = .05) disorders than among adults without these conditions. Conclusions and Relevance A recent overall increase in suicide attempts among adults in the United States has disproportionately affected younger adults with less formal education and those with antisocial personality disorder, anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, and a history of violence.

National Trends in Suicide Attempts Among Adults in the United States

The association between ages and psychological impact of natural disasters has not been well characterized. A population-based study was conducted 15 months after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake to assess whether elderly survivors were more likely to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and general psychiatric morbidity. A population-based survey of 327 survivors (152 elders, 175 younger adults) was conducted in severely affected areas by the earthquake, using a multi-stage systematic sampling design. Compared with the younger adult survivors, the elderly were more likely to have symptoms of PTSD (22.5% vs. 8.0%, p = 0.001) and general psychiatric morbidity (42.0% vs. 25.4%, p = 0.003). Risk factors, such as being elderly, having been in serious danger, having lost family members, and having felt guilt concerning one's death or injury were significantly associated with developing PTSD; being elderly, having family members or friends seriously injured, and having felt guilt concerning one's death or injury were significantly associated with developing general psychiatric morbidity. Utilization of mental health services is strongly associated with the decreased risk for developing both of the symptoms. Compared with the younger adults, the elderly survivors were more likely to develop PTSD and general psychiatric morbidity. More mental health services should be distributed to the elderly and groups at particular risk, to ensure their smooth mental health reconstruction after the earthquake.

/pdf/are-the-elderly-more-vulnerable-to-psychological-impact-of-4goat77j4f.pdf

Are the elderly more vulnerable to psychological impact of natural disaster? A population-based survey of adult survivors of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

http://ntur.lib.ntu.edu.tw/bitstream/246246/161369/1/58.pdf

Long-term psychological outcome of 1999 Taiwan earthquake survivors: a survey of a high-risk sample with property damage

Background 

Little is known about outcomes after self-harm in East Asia.

Aims 

To investigate mortality after self-harm in a Taiwanese population.

Method 

Between 2000 and 2003, 1083 individuals who self-harmed were identified through a population self-harm register in Nantou County, Taiwan, and followed until 2007 for date and cause of death on a national mortality database.

Results 

In total, 145 individuals died, 48 through suicide. The risks of all-cause and suicide mortality in the first year were 4.7% and 2.1% respectively, representing 8- and 131-fold age- and gender-standardised increases. Male gender and older age were independent risk factors for both suicide and non-suicide mortality. Use of more lethal methods in the index episode was associated with higher mortality but this was accounted for by gender.

Conclusions 

Results in this sample support the recommendation that people with a history of recent self-harm should be a major target for suicide prevention programmes.

/pdf/mortality-and-suicide-after-self-harm-community-cohort-study-9izfeoye7y.pdf

Long Ren Liao

Papers

Long-term psychological outcome of 1999 Taiwan earthquake survivors: a survey of a high-risk sample with property damage

Mortality and suicide after self-harm: community cohort study in Taiwan