Year: 1999 Source: Archives of Suicide Research, v.5, no.4, (1999), p.275-281 SIEC No: 19990864

The confusing & inconsistent employment of the terms “intentions” and “motives” in the literature of suicidology is exemplified & discussed. It is concluded that when nonfatal suicidal acts are explained in terms of something the patients wanted to achieve by the act (which mainly is the case), whether it was to die or something else, the appropriate term will be intention(s), not motive(s). (32 refs.)