Chronic Diseases in Former College Students III: Precursors of Suicide in Early and Middle Life

The college case-taking records of 40,000 former students of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University were examined for characteristic precursive of suicide. Traits differentiating suicides from their classmates were grouped into physical, familial, sociocultural and psychological categories. Early loss or absence of father was the dominant distinguishing characteristic of male suicides. Substitution of appropriate guidance is proposed as a preventative or remedial measure.