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The History of Suicide Prevention in Finland, 1860s–2010s

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Preventing Mental Illness

Part of the book series: Mental Health in Historical Perspective ((MHHP))

Abstract

As with many Western Countries, suicide came under scientific scrutiny in Finland during the nineteenth century. During the first 100 years of Finnish suicide research (1860s–1950s), suicide, though secularised and medicalised, was still regarded as a problem that mostly concerned abnormal individuals, not the mainstream of Finnish society. The inclusion of degeneration theories in psychiatry and criminology upheld this kind of presumption well into the twentieth century. By the 1970s, however, there was an important shift in the Finnish suicide discourse. Suicide became recognised as a public health problem, and research was redirected to identify the causes of suicide and to focus on suicide prevention. This chapter analyses the shift of focus in suicide research especially from the point of view of mounting welfare state discourse and the rise to prominence of social psychiatry in 1970s Finland.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See e.g. Ian Marsh, Suicide: Foucault, History and Truth (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010); Robert A. Houston, “The Medicalization of Suicide in Scotland and England,” in Histories of Suicide, eds. John Weaver and David Wright (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2009), 91–118.

  2. 2.

    Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol, Mental Maladies, engl. trans. E.K. Hunt (Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1845), 312–13.

  3. 3.

    Esquirol, Mental Maladies, 307.

  4. 4.

    Marsh, Suicide, 100.

  5. 5.

    John Weaver, A Sadly Troubled History: The Meanings of Suicide in the Modern Age (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2009), 35.

  6. 6.

    Ibid., 108.

  7. 7.

    Robert Lagus, Juridiskt Album (Helsingfors: J. Simelii, 1861), 90.

  8. 8.

    Theodolf Saelan, Om Sjelfmordet I Finland I statistiskt och rättmedicinskt afseende (Helsingfors: J. C. Frenckell & Son, 1864), 4–5, 47–52.

  9. 9.

    Ibid., 63.

  10. 10.

    Weaver, Sadly Troubled, 39–40.

  11. 11.

    In 1870s, only 4% of the population earned their livelihood in industrial occupations. Viljo Rasila, Torpparikysymyksen ratkaisuvaihe (Helsinki: Suomen Historiallinen Seura, 1970), 18.

  12. 12.

    Howard Kushner, Self-Destruction in the Promised Land (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1989), 46–48.

  13. 13.

    Saelan, Om Sjelfmordet, 64–65.

  14. 14.

    Marsh, Suicide, 136–38.

  15. 15.

    Saelan, Om Sjelfmordet, 66.

  16. 16.

    Ibid., 67.

  17. 17.

    Fredrik Westerlund, “Själfmorden i Finland 1861–1895,” Bidrag till kännedom af Finlands natur och folk 58 (Helsingfors: Finska Vetenskaps-Societeten, 1900), 138, 140, 142.

  18. 18.

    Toivo Nygård, Itsemurha suomalaisessa yhteiskunnassa (Jyväskylä: Jyväskylän yliopisto, 1994), 31–34; Veli Verkko, Homicides and Suicide in Finland and Their Dependence on National Character (København: G. E. C. Gads Forlag, 1951), 122–23.

  19. 19.

    Katariina Parhi, “Young Man M: Political Violence, Moral Insanity, and Criminal Law in Finnish Psychiatry in the 1870s and 1880s,” Scandinavian Journal of History 43, no. 1 (2018), https://doi.org/10.1080/03468755.2018.1430582.

  20. 20.

    The 1889 penal code was ratified only in 1894, after five years of reviewing by the Russian officials. Nygård, Itsemurha, 125; Anu Salmela, “Kuolemantekoja: Naisten itsemurhat 1800-luvun jälkipuolen tuomioistuinprosessissa” (Ph.D. diss., University of Turku, 2017), 19.

  21. 21.

    Susan Morrissey, Suicide and the Body Politic in Imperial Russia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 77–78.

  22. 22.

    Dan Lederer, “Sociology’s ‘One Law’: Moral Statistics, Modernity, Religion, and German Nationalism in the Suicide Studies of Adolf Wagner and Alexander von Oettingen,” Journal of Social History 46, no. 3 (2013): 690–93.

  23. 23.

    Enrico Morselli, Suicide (New York: D. Appleton, 1882), 16.

  24. 24.

    Westerlund, “Själfmorden,” 273–74.

  25. 25.

    Morrissey, Suicide, 187–88, 197–98, 202.

  26. 26.

    Westerlund, “Själfmorden,” 266.

  27. 27.

    Matti Peltonen, Kerta kiellon päälle. Suomalainen kieltolakimentaliteetti vuoden 1733 juopumusasetuksesta kieltolain kumoamiseen 1932 (Helsinki: Tammi, 1997), 75; Markku Mattila “Suomalaisten lääkärien suhtautuminen rotuhygieniaan ennen ensimmäistä maailmansotaa,” in Rasismi tieteessä ja politiikassa, ed. Jouko Jokisalo (Helsinki: Edita, 1996), 75.

  28. 28.

    Westerlund, “Själfmorden,” 274.

  29. 29.

    Mikko Myllykangas and Katariina Parhi, “Unjustified Emotions: Child Suicide in the Finnish Psychiatry from the 1930s Until the 1970s,” The Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth 9, no. 4 (2016): 489–508.

  30. 30.

    John Gach, “Biological Psychiatry in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries,” in History of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, eds. Edwin Wallace IV and John Gach (New York: Springer, 2008), 382–85; Andrew Scull, Madness in Civilization (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2015), 262–63.

  31. 31.

    Mikko Myllykangas, “Rappeutuminen, tiedostamaton vai yhteiskunta? Lääketieteellinen itsemurhatutkimus Suomessa vuoteen 1986” (Ph.D. diss., University of Oulu, 2014), 127, 149.

  32. 32.

    Oiva Elo, “Über Selbstmorde und Selbstmörder in Finnland,” Deutsche Zeitshrift für die gesamte gerichtliche Medizin 17, no. 1 (1931): 399–441.

  33. 33.

    See e.g. Kalle Achté, “On the History of Suicidological Research in Finland,” Psychiatria Fennica (1975): 257–65.

  34. 34.

    See “Conclusion.”

  35. 35.

    Verkko, Homicides, 140–44.

  36. 36.

    See e.g. Hannes Heikinheimo, Sielunterveys ja sen hoito (Turku: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Aura, 1946), 86–87.

  37. 37.

    Edwin Shneidman, Norman Farberow, and Robert Litman, “The Suicide Prevention Center,” in Cry for Help, eds. Norman Farberow and Ewdin Shneidman (New York: McGraw-Hill Book, 1961), 13.

  38. 38.

    See e.g., World Health Organization, Preventing Suicide: A Resource for Primary Health Care Workers (2000), 12.

  39. 39.

    Shneidman, Farberow, and Litman, “Suicide Prevention,” 6.

  40. 40.

    Norman Farberow, foreword to Suicide: An Unnecessary Death, ed. Danuta Wasserman (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016), xxx.

  41. 41.

    Norman Farberow and Edwin Shneidman, “Introduction,” in Cry for Help, eds. Farberow and Shneidman, 3.

  42. 42.

    Edwin Shneidman, “Suicide,” in Taboo Topics, ed. Norman Farberow (New York: Atherton Press, 1963), 41–42. The text was also translated into Finnish and published in Finland in 1967. Edwin Shneidman, “Itsemurha on Tabu,” Medisiinari, no. 3 (1967): 47–50.

  43. 43.

    Petteri Pietikäinen, Madness: A History (London: Routledge, 2015), 126–29; Scull, Madness, 245–46; Roger Smith, Between Mind and Nature: A History of Psychology (London: Reaktion Books, 2013), 107, 112.

  44. 44.

    Shneidman, Farberow, and Litman, “Suicide Prevention,” 6.

  45. 45.

    Myllykangas, Rappeutuminen, 157.

  46. 46.

    Kalle Achté, “Voidaanko itsemurhia ehkäistä?” Medisiinari, no. 7 (1967): 46–47.

  47. 47.

    Veikko Aalberg, “SOS-Service, The Suicide Prevention Center in Helsinki,” Psychiatria Fennica (1971), 247–50.

  48. 48.

    Jouko Lönnsvist, Suicide in Helsinki (Helsinki: Psychiatria Fennica, 1977), 98.

  49. 49.

    Achté, “Voidaanko,” 45.

  50. 50.

    Myllykangas, Rappeutuminen, 154–59, 166–74.

  51. 51.

    Jouko Lönnqvist, “On the Epidemiology of Suicide in Finland,” in Suicide Research, eds. Kalle Achté and Jouko Lönnqvist (Helsinki: Psychiatria Fennica, 1976), 75.

  52. 52.

    Pirkko Idänpää-Heikkilä, “Itsemurhan psykodynamiikasta,” Suomen Lääkärilehti, no. 25 (1971): 1526–30.

  53. 53.

    Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriö, Itsemurhatoimikunnan mietintö (Helsinki: Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriö, 1974), 57–58, 76.

  54. 54.

    Lönnqvist, Suicide, 156.

  55. 55.

    Maila Upanne, Professional Paradigms of Suicide Prevention (Helsinki: Stakes, 2001), 14.

  56. 56.

    Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Suicide Prevention in Finland 1986–1996: External Evaluation by an International Peer Group (Helsinki: Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, 1999), 9.

  57. 57.

    Jouko Lönnqvist et al., “Itsemurhat Suomessa 1987 -tutkimusprojekti,” in Itsemurhat Suomessa 1987 -projekti, eds. Jouko Lönnqvist, Hillevi Aro, and Mauri Marttunen (Helsinki: Stakes, 1993), 4.

  58. 58.

    Upanne, Professional Paradigms, 3–4.

  59. 59.

    Sosiaali- ja terveyshallitus, Itsemurhan voi ehkäistä (Helsinki: Sosiaali- ja terveyshallitus, 1992), 14, 22–23.

  60. 60.

    Jouko Lönnqvist, “Suicide Prevention in Finland,” in Oxford Textbook of Suicidology and Suicide Prevention, eds. Danuta Wasserman and Camilla Wasserman (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), 794.

  61. 61.

    Jari Hakanen and Maila Upanne, Itsemurhien ehkäisyn käytännöt Suomessa (Helsinki: Stakes, 1999), 143; Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Suicide Prevention, 11.

  62. 62.

    See e.g. Tellervo Koivisto, Päiväkirjan uudet sivut (Helsinki: Otava, 1999); Neil Hardwick, Hullun lailla, trans. J. Lindholm (Helsinki: Otava, 1999).

  63. 63.

    Ilpo Helén, Pertti Hämäläinen, and Anna Metteri, “Komplekseja ja katkoksia,” in Reformin pirstaleet, ed. Ilpo Helén (Tampere: Vastapaino, 2011), 36.

  64. 64.

    Markus Henriksson et al., “Mielenterveyden häiriöt ja itsemurha,” in Itsemurhat Suomessa 1987 –projekti, eds. Jouko Lönnqvist, Hillevi Aro, and Mauri Marttunen (Helsinki: Stakes, 1993), 70–71.

  65. 65.

    See e.g. Kirsi Suominen et al. “Mental Disorders and Comorbidity in Attempted Suicide,” Acta Psychiatria Scandinavica 94, no. 4 (1996): 234, 237; Timo Partonen, Jari Haukka, and Jouko Lönnqvist, “Itsemurhakuolleisuus Suomessa vuosina 1979–2001,” Duodecim 119 (2003): 1827.

  66. 66.

    Scull, Madness, 388–90, 404.

  67. 67.

    Dan Blazer, The Age of Melancholy (New York: Routledge, 2006), 10.

  68. 68.

    See e.g. Kirsi Suominen and Hanna Valtonen, “Itsetuhoisen potilaan arviointi,” Duodecim 129 (2013): 884–85; Pia Solin and Timo Paronen, “Tunnista itsemurhan vaara!” Duodecim 133 (2017): 1409–10.

  69. 69.

    Göran Isacsson, “Suicide Prevention—A Medical Breakthrough,” Acta Psychiatria Scandinavica 102, no. 2 (2000): 113.

  70. 70.

    Göran Isacsson et al., “Decrease in Suicide Among the Individuals Treated with Antidepressants,” Acta Psychiatria Scandinavica 120, no. 1 (2009): 37–44; Svein Reseland, Isabella Bray, and David Gunnell, “Relationship Between Antidepressant Sales and Secular Trends in Suicide Rates in the Nordic Countries,” British Journal of Psychiatry 188 (April 2006): 355–56; Hans-Jürgen Möller, “Pharmacological and Other Biological Treatments of Suicidal Individuals,” in Oxford Textbook of Suicidology and Suicide Prevention, eds. Danuta Wasserman and Camilla Wasserman (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), 398–99.

  71. 71.

    Partonen, Haukka, and Lönnqvist, “Itsemurhakuolleisuus,” 1830; Official Statistics of Finland (OSF), Causes of Death [e-publication], ISSN = 1799-5078 (2016): 6, http://www.stat.fi/til/ksyyt/2016/ksyyt_2016_2017-12-29_kat_006_en.html.

  72. 72.

    Jari Holopainen, Samuli Helama, and Timo Partonen, “Suomalainen itsemurhakuolleisuus 1950–2009 eurooppalaisessa vertailussa,” Duodecim 130 (2014): 1536–44 (1543).

  73. 73.

    Jyrki Korkeila et al., “Use of Antidepressants and Suicide Rate in Finland,” Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 68, no. 4 (May 2007): 505–11 (506–8).

  74. 74.

    Jari Tiihonen et al., “Antidepressants and the Risk of Suicide, Attempted Suicide, and Overall Mortality in a Nationwide Cohort,” Archives of General Psychiatry 63 (December 2006): 1358–67 (1358, 1362).

  75. 75.

    See e.g. David Healy, Kim Bechthold, and Peter Tolias, “Antidepressant-Induced Suicidality,” Personalized Medicine 11, no. 1 (2014): 79–88.

  76. 76.

    Mauri Marttunen and Henna Haravuori, “Nuorten masennuslääkehoito ja itsetuhoisuus” [editorial], Duodecim 131 (2015): 613–14.

  77. 77.

    Benedict W. Wheeler et al., “The Population Impact on Incidence of Suicide and Non-Fatal Self Harm of Regulatory Action Against the Use of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors in under 18s in the United Kingdom: Ecological Study,” British Medical Journal 336 (2008): 542–45.

  78. 78.

    Sami Pirkola et al., “Community Mental Health Services and Suicide Rate in Finland,” Lancet 373 (January 2009): 147–53.

  79. 79.

    Danuta Wasserman and Marcus Sokolowski, “Stress-Vulnerability Model of Suicidal Behaviours,” in Suicide: An Unnecessary Death, ed. Wasserman, 21–22.

  80. 80.

    Office of the Surgeon General and National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, 2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services, 2012), 11, 13, 21.

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  1. University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    Mikko Myllykangas

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  1. Mikko Myllykangas
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  1. Department of History and Archaeology, University of Crete, Rethymno, Crete, Greece

    Despo Kritsotaki

  2. School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Vicky Long

  3. Centre for the Social History of Health and Healthcare, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK

    Matthew Smith

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Myllykangas, M. (2019). The History of Suicide Prevention in Finland, 1860s–2010s. In: Kritsotaki, D., Long, V., Smith, M. (eds) Preventing Mental Illness. Mental Health in Historical Perspective. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98699-9_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98699-9_7

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