David Lester

John F. Gunn

This book looks at the problem of why so many professional and amateur athletes kill themselves. Professional athletes lead what seem to us to be glamorous lives and make large, and sometimes huge, salaries. In schools, the athletes are often the formal and informal leaders, given recognition and honors. News of their suicides shocks us because, to the rest of us, these are the successful members of our society, often looked up to as heroes and role models. The book, therefore, explores the incidence of suicide in athletes and reviews the risk factors that increase the likelihood of suicide in athletes. Research on these risk factors, such as the role of steroids and concussions, is reviewed, and case studies are provided to illustrate these risk factors. Some of the topics include: suicide in baseball and cricket; how steroids is often linked to suicide, as well as concussion and traumatic brain injury; how social relationships of athletes, including suicide among lesbian, gay and bisexual athletes, and sexual abuse, can lead to suicide; suicide as a result of bullying among high school and college athletes and suicide contagion; how spectators’ involvement in sports can be related to suicide; and the effect of retirement on athletes, psychiatric problems among athletes, and how substance abuse among athletes can cause suicide, along with many other topics. The book concludes with ways in which suicide might be prevented in athletes. It will be of great interest to crisis workers and those who work in crisis centers, as well as suicidologists, mental health workers, and others interested in the topic.

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