Cheap thrills and humble pie: the adolescence of female suicide attempters

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe characteristic social and psychological patterns of the adolescence of females who become suicide attempters during adulthood. To accomplish this retrospective study, life histories of 50 adult female suicide attempters were obtained; these were supplemented by a content analysis of personal documents written by the subjects during their adolescence. Two disparate social and psychological patterns were identified: "Cheap Thrills" and "Humble Pie." Cheap Thrills was a pattern of defiance, rebelliousness, acting-out behaviors, drug involvement, and indiscriminate sexuality. Humble Pie was in polar contrast and involved overconformity, docility, passivity, and emotional submergence. The significance of these findings lies in the identification of the second pattern, Humble Pie; this pattern is a stark contrast to the prevalent image in the suicide literature. More generally, the present study may contribute to an understanding of the long-term and processual nature of the suicidal careers of females.