Ethology and Suicidal Behaviour (IN: The International Handbook of Suicide and Attempted Suicide, edited by K Hawton & K van Heeringen)

In the 1950s, initial reference to ethology, the biological study of behaviour in natural environments, was made in regard to suicidal behaviour. This chapter traces the development of ethological hypotheses & then refers to recent biological observations, the experimental manipulation of behaviour in animals & also findings from naturalistic longitudinal cohort studies, each of which may contribute to a better understanding of the enigma of suicide. (40 refs.)