Sociological, Legal, and Psychological Aspects of Social Protection for Individuals Vulnerable to Suicide Due to Psychological Pressure
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48161/qaj.v5n3a2054Keywords:
Suicide Vulnerability, Psychological Pressure, Social Protection, ; Mental Health Law, Socio-Legal FrameworksAbstract
This study examines how sociological, legal, and psychological systems respond to individuals vulnerable to suicide due to sustained psychological distress, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim is to identify systemic shortcomings in mental health protection and to propose an integrated policy-practice approach for enhancing preventive measures. The study focuses on deficiencies in healthcare accessibility, the legal recognition of psychological vulnerability, and the fragility of community-based support systems. It also considers the accelerating role of digitalization, particularly the emergence of telepsychology and online support platforms. Methodologically, the paper adopts a qualitative meta-analytical approach, drawing upon international legal precedents, sociological theories of social isolation, and psychological research related to suicide risk factors. Comparative case studies from Central Asia, North America, and Europe are employed to assess how different countries structure suicide prevention within policy and practice domains. Instruments such as the SAD PERSONS scale and the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale are reviewed for their utility in standardizing documentation and early risk detection. The findings reveal significant policy gaps in both preventative care and legal accountability. Many existing systems remain reactive, with delayed responses to early signs of psychological distress. Integrated, rights-based frameworks—those combining legal protection, ethical guidance, and digital innovations—show greater promise in supporting vulnerable individuals. The study concludes by proposing a multidimensional framework that informs both public policy and professional practice. A paradigm shift toward proactive, inclusive, and ethically grounded models of suicide prevention is essential to address the evolving challenges facing at-risk populations in both global and local contexts.
Downloads
References
Batty, G. D., Kivimäki, M., Bell, S., Gale, C. R., Shipley, M., Whitley, E., & Gunnell, D. (2018). Psychosocial characteristics as potential predictors of suicide in adults: an overview of the evidence with new results from prospective cohort studies. Translational psychiatry, 8(1), 22.
Lyndon, N., Azman, H., Che Rose, R. A., & Mat Jali, M. F. (2021). Sociological narrative of suicidal behavior among older people. Clinical interventions in aging, 1379-1392.
Mueller, A. S., Abrutyn, S., Pescosolido, B., & Diefendorf, S. (2021). The social roots of suicide: Theorizing how the external social world matters to suicide and suicide prevention. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 621569.
Motillon-Toudic, C., Walter, M., Séguin, M., Carrier, J. D., Berrouiguet, S., & Lemey, C. (2022). Social isolation and suicide risk: Literature review and perspectives. European psychiatry, 65(1), e65.
Goldston, D. B., Molock, S. D., Whitbeck, L. B., Murakami, J. L., Zayas, L. H., & Hall, G. C. N. (2008). Cultural considerations in adolescent suicide prevention and psychosocial treatment. American Psychologist, 63(1), 14.
Pridmore, S., Money, T. T., & Pridmore, W. (2018). Suicide: What the general public and the individual should know. The Malaysian journal of medical sciences: MJMS, 25(2), 15.
Cohen-Almagor, R. (2015). An argument for physician-assisted suicide and against euthanasia. Ethics, Medicine and Public Health, 1(4), 431-441.
World Health Organization. (2025). Suicide worldwide in 2021: global health estimates. World Health Organization.
Duffy, R. M., & Kelly, B. D. (2019). India's Mental Healthcare Act, 2017: content, context, controversy. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 62, 169-178.
Banerjee, D., Varshney, P., & Vajawat, B. (2020). " Guarding the gatekeepers": suicides among mental health professionals and scope of prevention, a review. Psychiatry research, 294, 113501.
Battin, M. P., Van Der Heide, A., Ganzini, L., Van Der Wal, G., & Onwuteaka-Philipsen, B. D. (2007). Legal physician-assisted dying in Oregon and the Netherlands: evidence concerning the impact on patients in “vulnerable” groups. Journal of medical ethics, 33(10), 591-597.
Brik, A. B., & Aouani, B. (2024). The sociology of suicide and social welfare in the Middle East and North Africa region. In Silent Pain and Public Policy (pp. 2-31). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Banerjee, D., Kosagisharaf, J. R., & Rao, T. S. (2021). ‘The dual pandemic’of suicide and COVID-19: A biopsychosocial narrative of risks and prevention. Psychiatry research, 295, 113577.
Segedin, L. (2018). Understanding how the implementation of the specialist high skills major program contributes to student outcomes. McGill Journal of Education, 53(3).
Young, A. (2011). The arms of the infinite? The liability of mental health professionals for the violent acts of their patient. Mental health and learning disabilities research and practice, 8(1), 3-14.
Schechter, M., Ronningstam, E., Herbstman, B., & Goldblatt, M. J. (2019). Psychotherapy with suicidal patients: The integrative psychodynamic approach of the Boston Suicide Study Group. Medicina, 55(6), 303.
Muñoz-Sánchez, J. L., Delgado, C., Sánchez-Prada, A., Pérez-López, M., & Franco-Martín, M. A. (2017). Use of new technologies in the prevention of suicide in Europe: An exploratory study. JMIR mental health, 4(2), e7716.
Singer, J. O. N. A. T. H. A. N. (2005). Child and adolescent psychiatric emergencies: Mobile crisis response. Crisis intervention handbook: Assessment, treatment, and research, 319-361.
Patel, V., Saxena, S., Lund, C., Thornicroft, G., Baingana, F., Bolton, P., ... & Unützer, J. (2018). The Lancet Commission on global mental health and sustainable development. The lancet, 392(10157), 1553-1598.
Kulik, X.. (2025). Stigma and mental illness in Central Asian societies: theoretical perspectives and implications. Eurasian Journal of Current Research in Psychology and Pedagogy. 14-22. 10.46914/2959-3999-2024-1-4-14-22.
Kirmayer, L. J. (2012). Cultural competence and evidence-based practice in mental health: Epistemic communities and the politics of pluralism. Social science & medicine, 75(2), 249-256.
Morgan, R. (2018). Incarcerating Individuals with Mental Health Illness in the United States (Doctoral dissertation).
Tarasoff, V. (1976). Regents of the University of California, 17 Cal. 3d 425, 551 P. 2d 334, 131 Cal.
Posner, K., Brown, G. K., Stanley, B., Brent, D. A., Yershova, K. V., Oquendo, M. A., ... & Mann, J. J. (2011). The Columbia–Suicide Severity Rating Scale: initial validity and internal consistency findings from three multisite studies with adolescents and adults. American journal of psychiatry, 168(12), 1266-1277.
Kyrgyzstan, U. N. I. C. E. F., & Corps, M. (2021). National Integrated Micronutrient and Anthropometric Survey in the Kyrgyz Republic (NIMAS 2021).
Kleiman, E. M., & Liu, R. T. (2013). Social support as a protective factor in suicide: Findings from two nationally representative samples. Journal of affective disorders, 150(2), 540-545.
Patterson, W. M., Dohn, H. H., Bird, J., & Patterson, G. A. (1983). Evaluation of suicidal patients: the SAD PERSONS scale. Psychosomatics, 24(4), 343-349.
Moser, D. A., Glaus, J., Frangou, S., & Schechter, D. S. (2020). Years of life lost due to the psychosocial consequences of COVID-19 mitigation strategies based on Swiss data. European Psychiatry, 63(1), e58.
Ma, J., Zhang, W., Harris, K., Chen, Q., & Xu, X. (2016). Dying online: live broadcasts of Chinese emerging adult suicides and crisis response behaviors. BMC Public Health, 16, 1-9.
Alonzo, D., & Zubaroglu-Ioannides, P. (2023). Protective Factors against Suicide and Violence against Women in Azerbaijan: Shedding light on Suicide in Muslim-Majority Countries. European Psychiatry, 66(S1), S1108-S1108.
Kim, C. (2018). The impacts of social protection policies and programs on suicide: a literature review. International journal of health services, 48(3), 512-534.
Alob, A. P., & Fuente, J. A. D. (2021). Lived Experiences of Repeat Crime Offenders: A Phenomenological Untold Stories. Qubahan Academic Journal, 1(4), 14-24.
SINGH, A. (2024). Exploring the Impact of Social Change on Youth Suicide: Implications for Developmental Processes and Policies.
McLean, J., Maxwell, M., Platt, S., Harris, F., & Jepson, R. (2008). Risk and protective factors for suicide and suicidal behaviour: A literature review.
Stack, S. (2021). Contributing factors to suicide: Political, social, cultural and economic. Preventive medicine, 152, 106498.
Herring, J. (2022). The right to be protected from committing suicide.
Lyndon, N., Azman, H., Che Rose, R. A., & Mat Jali, M. F. (2021). Sociological narrative of suicidal behavior among older people. Clinical interventions in aging, 1379-1392.
Slavich, G. M. (2020). Social safety theory: a biologically based evolutionary perspective on life stress, health, and behavior. Annual review of clinical psychology, 16(1), 265-295.
Frost, D. M., & Meyer, I. H. (2023). Minority stress theory: Application, critique, and continued relevance. Current opinion in psychology, 51, 101579.
Frost, D. M., & Meyer, I. H. (2023). Minority stress theory: Application, critique, and continued relevance. Current opinion in psychology, 51, 101579.
Rogers, A., & Pilgrim, D. (2021). A sociology of mental health and illness 6e. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Rejda, G. E. (2015). Social insurance and economic security. Routledge.
Ozbilgin, M. F., Erbil, C., Demirbağ, O., Gündoğdu, N., & Şimşek Demirbağ, K. (2024). Institutional suicide as anomie: decedents speak out for work-related suicides through a Durkheimian exploration of suicide notes in a context without institutional responsibilization for suicide prevention. Frontiers in Sociology, 9, 1309119.
Roy, A., Singh, A. K., Mishra, S., Chinnadurai, A., Mitra, A., & Bakshi, O. (2021). Mental health implications of COVID-19 pandemic and its response in India. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 67(5), 587-600.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Qubahan Academic Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
