Suicide Among Aboriginal People in Canada - Institut universitaire ...

GlossaryAmbivalence – Ambivalence refers to a conflict between competing wishes or desires within the person;in the context of suicide, for example, the ambivalent individual may simultaneously have both the desireto die and the desire to live.Anomie – Sociologist Émile Durkheim used this term to refer to a lack of social order and integrationwithin a society, and suggested that there is a relationship between social conditions and suicide. Anomicsuicide can occur in a society that lacks “collective order” because it is undergoing major social change.Antidepressant – A medication used to treat major depression.Antisocial personality disorder – A psychiatric diagnosis in which a person shows repeated andpersistent social difficulties including conflict with the law, inconsistent employment, and irresponsibilityas a parent. In adolescence, this may involve truancy or expulsion from school, running away, persistentlying, sexual promiscuity, substance abuse, fighting, and vandalism.Anxiety – The state of being anxious or having feelings of nervousness and fear; a psychiatric disordercharacterized by a state of excessive uneasiness.Bimodal – A statistical distribution having two peaks.Bipolar disorder (also called manic-depressive illness) – A psychiatric disorder is characterized bycyclical periods (lasting days, weeks, or months) of extremes of mood, both highs (mania) and lows(depression).Borderline personality disorder (BPD) – A mental health problem characterized by instability inmoods, behaviour, self-image, and interpersonal relationships. Symptoms include intense bouts of anger,depression, and anxiety that may last for hours or, at most, a day. These periods may be associated withepisodes of impulsive aggression, self-injury, and substance abuse.Cohort – In epidemiology, a well-defined group of people who have had a common experience or exposure,and are then followed up. A birth cohort is a group of people born during the same time period.Cohort effect – A variation in health or other characteristics that arises from some factors to which aspecific birth cohort in the population was exposed.Comorbidity – The co-occurrence of two or more illnesses or disorders; often refers to a psychiatric orpsychological disorder coexisting with a substance use disorder.Conduct disorder – A disorder of childhood or adolescence characterized by repetitive and persistentanti-social activities that violate the rights of others. Symptoms may include physical or verbal aggressiondirected towards others, repeated violation of age-appropriate social rules and norms, stealing, and“conning” others to avoid responsibility or for personal gain.xi