High place phenomenon: prevalence and clinical correlates in two German samples
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
High place phenomenon: prevalence and clinical correlates in two German samples Tobias Teismann*, Julia Brailovskaia, Svenja Schaumburg and André Wannemüller
Abstract Background: The high place phenomenon, that is, a sudden urge to jump when in a high place, is an experience known to many people, that has rarely been studied. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of the high place phenomenon in a non-clinical and a clinical German sample. Furthermore, clinical correlates of the experience were assessed. Methods: The study sample comprised 276 participants (67% female; Mage = 32.08, SDage = 10.73) who took part in an online assessment and 94 patients (73.4% female; Mage = 49.26, SDage = 13.32) suffering from clinically relevant fear of flying. Participants filled out questionnaires on experiences with the high place phenomenon, depression, anxiety, suicide ideation and anxiety sensitivity. Results: The high place phenomenon was known to nearly 60% of the online sample and to 45% of the patient sample. Suicide ideation as well as anxiety sensitivity were positively associated with experiences with the high place phenomenon in the online sample. Depression, anxiety and suicide ideation were unrelated to experiences with the phenomenon in the patient sample. Conclusion: The high place phenomenon is commonly reported by (lifetime/current) suicide ideators. However, it is also a common experience in individuals who have never suffered from suicide ideation. It is therefore cautioned not to interpret such experiences as an expression of a hidden death wish. Keywords: High place phenomenon, Suicide ideation, Depression, Anxiety, Anxiety sensitivity
Background Many people are familiar with the experience of a sudden urge to jump when in a high place, that is, when standing on a bridge or a viewing platform. On the Internet this experience is described and discussed under the term call of the void, while Hames and colleagues [1] have coined the term high place phenomenon. Although it is an experience known to many people, the phenomenon has rarely been studied. In the only study published on the phenomenon by now, Hames et al. [1] investigated a sample of 432 undergraduate college students. They could show that * Correspondence: [email protected] Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Massenbergstraße 9-13, 44787 Bochum, Germany
over 50% of participants who have never suffered from suicide ideation in their lifetime, reported to have experienced the phenomenon at least once in their lives. Furthermore, over three-quarters of lifetime suicide ideators reported experiencing the urge to jump from a window of a tall building or off a bridge or building. Though experiences with the high place phenomenon were strongly associated with current and lifetime suicidal ideation as well as severity of current depressive symptoms, the finding that 50% of lifetime non-ideators were familiar with the sudden urge to jump from a high place indicates that the expe
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