Electrocution-Related Mortality: a Review of 351 Deaths by Low-Voltage Electrical Current

This article describes the characteries of lethal injuries due to electrocution. 945 cases in Bulgaria, occurring during the period 1965-2006, were reviewed – 351 cases of electrocution were identified. The average age of victims was 35.25 years. Most deaths occurred among males. Suicides accounted for 7.41 percent of deaths. (22 refs.)

Attempted Suicide by Poisoning in the Sofia Region

Data on 9235 persons who had attempted suicide & been admitted to hospital over an 8 year period showed that a female/male ratio of 4:1 in young subjects gradually decreased with age. More than 1/2 the attempts were made by people under age 24, the same proportion was unmarried. Attempts occurred mainly after 2 pm. […]

Suicide Prevention in Bulgaria. Cry for Help

The author discusses the situation over the last 2-3 years which has made suicide prevention in Bulgaria extremely difficult. He asks for international assistance during this difficult time.

Self-Destruction in the Bulgarian Folk Song

The authors found only 200 songs out of thousands of folk songs published from 1889-1963 that made reference to self-destruction. These songs are therefore a rare phenomenon in Bulgarian culture. Themes of these folk songs include love, incest, impasse, serious illness, insult, loss of property, self-punishment, incitement to suicide, melancholia, & sex. (NBB)

Self-Destruction in Bulgarian Folk Songs (IN: Suicide in Different Cultures, ed. by N L Farberow)

This chapter uses folk songs to provide ideas about the frequency & the motivational structure of the act of suicide in Bulgaria. Self-destructive motivations found in the songs studied include love, preservation of dignity, insult, deceit or disappointment, impasse, physical suffering, & jokes. (LH)

Suicide in Communist Europe

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