Abstract
Concepts and social perceptions behind suicide have changed greatly over the ages. Contemporary views of suicide see it as a form of violence – self-inflicted violence –, one of the three unnatural (or violent) causes of death, the other two being homicide and accidents.
However, the relation between suicide and violence is a particular one, in what it is inwards directed, the same individual causing and receiving the violence unto him/herself. Along the path of the suicidal process (whose outcome can be classified as death or suicide attempt), different forms of external violence can be identified as contributors to the development of that process.
In this chapter, the magnitude of the problem as well as its determinants (i.e. protective and risk factors – both predisposing and precipitant) are presented and discussed. The association of social inequities with suicide rates is highlighted; this is particularly evident in relation to the elderly.
Finally, the main effective suicide prevention strategies are reviewed indicated and critically discussed.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
More recently, the World Health Organization has released the report Preventing Suicide: A Global Imperative www.who.int/mental_health/suicide-prevention/world_report_2014
References
Bertolote, J. (2004). Suicide prevention: At what level does it work? World Psychiatry, 3, 147–151.
Bertolote, J., & Fleischmann, A. (2002). A global perspective in the epidemiology of suicide. Suicidology, 2, 6–8.
Camus, A. (1942). Le mythe de Sysiphe. Paris: Gallimard.
De Leo, D., Bertolote, J., & Lester, D. (2002). Self-directed violence. In E. G. Krug et al. (Eds.), World report on violence and health. Geneva: World Health Organization.
De Leo, D., Burgis, S., Bertolote, J. M., Kerkhof, A. J., & Bille-Brahe, U. (2006). Definitions of suicidal behavior: Lessons learned from the WHO/EURO multicentre study. Crisis, 27, 4–156.
Mann, J., Apter, A., Bertolote, J., et al. (2005). Suicide prevention strategies: A systematic review. Journal of the American Medical Association, 294, 2064–2074.
Mann, J., Arango, V., Avenevoli, S., et al. (2009). Candidate endophenotypes for genetic studies of suicide behavior. Biological Psychiatry, 65, 556–563.
Mathers, C., & Loncar, D. (2006). Projections of global mortality and burden of disease from 2002 to 2030. PLoS Medicine, 3, e442, 2011–2030.
Minois, G. (1995). Histoire du suicide. Paris: Fayard.
World Health Organization. (1998). Primary prevention of mental, neurological and psychosocial disorders. Geneva: World Health Organization.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bertolote, J.M., de Leo, D. (2015). Self-Inflicted Violence. In: Lindert, J., Levav, I. (eds) Violence and Mental Health. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8999-8_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8999-8_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-017-8998-1
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-8999-8
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)