The Medicalization of Suicide in England: Laymen, Physicians, and Cultural Change, 1500-1870

Dynamics of the decriminalization & secularization of suicide between 1660-1800 are discussed, & reflections are offered on the causes of change & implications of the history of suicide for historians. The role of the medical laymen in defending the medical explanation & seeking to alleviate the effects of suicide laws on survivors is emphasized. The change in societal attitudes & responses to suicide illustrates the negotiated quality of disease definition. (90 refs.)