Year: 1999 Source: Befriending Worldwide, no.1, (1999), p.4-5 SIEC No: 20060068

This article discusses what can be learned about suicidal behaviours by studying animals, particularly in terms of a critical period of development during which an innate releasing mechanism automatically evokes a fixed action pattern of behaviour. The implications of findings from these studies on the work of the Befrienders is briefly described.