Prediction of Self-Preservation Failures on the Basis of Quantitative Evolutionary Biology (IN: Assessment and Prediction of Suicide, edited by R W Maris et al)

In reviewing evolutionary limits to self-preservation, this chapter discusses an integration of the theories of senescence, reproductive value, inclusive fitness, & social dominance as summarized in a relatively simple mathmatical formula. Correspondence to the social ecology of suicide is discussed. Regarding scientific prediction of suicide, the author contends that discriminant-function analysis & multiple regression are the best tools for this complex multivariate statistical task.(50 Refs.)