Resource Tag: PSYCHOLOGICAL AUTOPSY

A rare study that transforms our understanding of why youth die by suicide, why youth suicide clusters happen, and how to stop them Youth suicide clusters have deeply unsettled communities in recent years. While clusters have been widely documented in the media, too little is known about why youth die by suicide, why youth suicide […]

Importance Suicide rates in the US increased by 35.6% from 2001 to 2021. Given that most individuals die on their first attempt, earlier detection and intervention are crucial. Understanding modifiable risk factors is key to effective prevention strategies. Objective To identify distinct suicide profiles or classes, associated signs of suicidal intent, and patterns of modifiable […]

Importance  Suicide rates in the US increased by 35.6% from 2001 to 2021. Given that most individuals die on their first attempt, earlier detection and intervention are crucial. Understanding modifiable risk factors is key to effective prevention strategies. Objective  To identify distinct suicide profiles or classes, associated signs of suicidal intent, and patterns of modifiable risks for […]

Introduction Suicide loss survivors can provide information not otherwise available about the circumstances preceding a suicide. In this study, we analyzed interview data from suicide loss survivors collected as part of a psychological autopsy study of U.S. Army soldiers. Methods Next-of-kin (NOK) (n = 61) and Army supervisors (SUP) (n = 107) of suicide decedents (n = 135) who had died […]

Background: Railway suicide has profound implications for the victims and their family, and affects train drivers, railway personnel, emergency services and witnesses. To inform a multilevel prevention strategy, more knowledge is required about psychosocial and precipitating risk factors of railway suicide. Methods: Data from Statistics Netherlands of all suicides between 2017 and 2021 (n = 9.241) of […]

Introduction Suicide is one of the leading causes of death, with a trend for its increase in Brazil in past decades. This study aimed to review the characteristics of suicides in Brazilian postmortem studies. Methods Studies investigating suicide deaths in Brazil, and based on autopsy or psychological autopsy were included. Proportions were pooled across studies […]

Background: Around 700,000 people die by suicide each year. While the global number of suicides declined over the last decade, the rates remained unchanged in the Netherlands. With this study, we aimed to provide guiding principles for the implementation of a national standardized psychological autopsy to better understand and prevent suicide, by exploring stakeholder perceptions and […]

Introduction Suicide is a multifaceted event precipitated by underlying biopsychosocial risk factors. Evidence for various psychiatric morbidities underlying suicidality through Psychological Autopsy (PA) is established in case-control studies. However, considering the possible geographical variations and the limited number of studies from developing countries, the estimates of such risk factors across the world could provide great […]

Introduction. Suicide remains an important public health issue in China. Existing literature on the relationship between individual-familial variables and suicide risk mainly focused on family socioeconomic status, and few studies analyzed the effect of position in family on suicide. In this study, we aimed to explore the association between position in family and suicide among […]

Background The suicide rate in Guyana has consistently ranked in the top ten globally, yet there is only limited literature related to the context in which these suicides occur. This study aims to better understand the psychosocial circumstances and characteristics of suicides in Guyana. Methods This case series study utilised a qualitative psychological autopsy method. […]

Purpose of review: Suicide is a complex phenomenon wherein multiple parameters intersect: psychological, medical, moral, religious, social, economic and political. Over the decades, however, it has been increasingly and almost exclusively come to be viewed through a biomedical prism. Colonized thus by health and more specifically mental health professionals, alternative and complimentary approaches have been excluded […]

Background: The life time risk of suicide among patients with long term psychosis is 5-15%. Suicide prevention in this group is a major clinical challenge. Aims: To capture specific characteristics of suicidal communication and critical events preceding suicide in patients with psychosis. Methods: Medical records were examined and a life event inventory applied to a […]

Background: Physical illness is linked with an increased risk of suicide; however, evidence from China is limited. Aims: To assess the influence of physical illness on risk of suicide among rural residents of China, and to examine the differences in the characteristics of people completing suicide with physical illness from those without physical illness. Method: In all, 200 suicide cases […]

Background: Alcohol has been noted to be an important factor in nearly 68% of the suicides in Northern Uganda, yet exactly how alcohol contributes to suicide in this region has not been studied. Aims: To determine how alcohol contributes to suicide in this region. Methods: Qualitative psychological autopsy interviews were conducted with bereaved relatives and friends of 20 suicides mainly […]

Background: Ethical issues have been raised about using the psychological autopsy approach in the study of suicide. The impact on informants of control cases who participated in case-control psychological autopsy studies has not been investigated. Aims: (1) To investigate whether informants of suicide cases recruited by two approaches (coroners’ court and public mortuaries) respond differently to the […]

Background while there are many benefits for young people to use social media, adverse effects such as cyberbullying, online challenges, social comparison and imitation may provoke and aggravate suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The influence of social media on mental health and suicidal thoughts and behaviours has been amply studied, but there is little empirical evidence […]

The COVID-19 pandemic is associated with suicide, as some data suggests. Our study aims to investigate the emergence of eleven completed suicide cases suspected to be linked to the COVID-19 pandemic during the restrictive measures imposed by the Romanian government, and to identify the consequences of mental health, suicidal motivation, and behavioral changes. To this […]

Objective Case–control psychological autopsy studies are the research standard for the postmortem, quantitative study of ongoing or recent risk factors for suicide. We aimed to develop a reliable checklist of methodological quality of these studies. Method We adapted items from a validated checklist to address general methodological elements and created novel items to address the […]

Objective We tested the aspects of social support, unit cohesion, and religiosity hypothesized to be protective factors for suicide among U.S. service members. Methods This case–control study compared U.S. Army soldiers who died by suicide while on active duty (n = 135) to controls of two types: those propensity score-matched on known sociodemographic risk factors (n = 128); and […]

The majority of suicide decedents die on their initial attempt. To bring attention to suicide decedents without a suicide attempt history, the current study explored their demographic, clinical, and suicide-related characteristics. The data were derived from the Korea National Investigation of Suicide Victims Study, which assessed all suicide cases from 2013 to 2017 recorded in […]

Background A range of factors including mental disorders and adverse life events can increase the risk of suicide. The objectives of this study were to examine psychosocial and psychiatric factors and service engagement among suicide decedents compared with living controls. Methods A case–control study using multiple sources was conducted. Information on 132 consecutive cases of […]

Although it has been stated that the majority of suicidal people give definite warnings of their suicidal intention, a percentage of suicidal people may dissemble (or mask), possibly 20%. The aim of this psychological autopsy (PA) study was to explore the mask of suicide, examining age and sex of the decedent, and survivors’ relationship to […]

Background Suicide and risk factors have been poorly studied in the Muslim-majority countries that hinder the formulation of prevention strategies and affect suicide prevention eventually. Objectives We aimed at identifying and analyzing the psychological autopsy studies assessing the risk factors for suicide conducted in Muslim-majority countries. Methods We did a search to trace all the […]