Studying Suicide From the Life Course Perspective: Implications for Prevention

Suicide risk is influenced not only by factors such as the cultural acceptability of suicide, the ease of availability of lethal suicide methods, help-seeking behaviours in times of crisis, & access to effective treatments following self-harm. Suicide prevention programs might usefully focus on 2 discrete areas: the prevention of psychiatric illnesses that precede suicide & tackling those risk factors particular to suicide such as media influences, help-seeking, the availability of methods, & the medical management of self-harm. (23 refs.)