Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The British Journal of General Practice logoLink to The British Journal of General Practice
. 1992 Nov;42(364):482–485.

Suicidal behaviour: a continuing cause for concern.

D Aldridge 1
PMCID: PMC1372273  PMID: 1472397

Abstract

There is an increase in suicidal behaviour in the western world providing a major challenge to health care providers. There is an increase in the number of suicides among elderly people in Europe. The problem of suicides among elderly people is in itself a social problem, not solely a medical one. The general practitioner may be the only source of social contact for the elderly. Elderly individuals often present their problems to doctors as somatic complaints; these complaints must not be taken at face value but understood as expressions of psychosocial and social distress. The rise in suicide rates among young people is also alarming. The warning signs of escalating distress in adolescents are known and a treatment programme coordinating medical initiatives, such that recidivism of suicidal behaviour in adolescents is reduced, is necessary. The general practitioner is urged to sense when the problem presented by the individual stems from a source which is predominantly social, and to suggest an appropriate solution which may entail a family intervention. The general practitioner is in the front line of treatment and he or she may be better advised to treat both the social situation and the individual person in cases of attempted suicide. Medical initiatives must incorporate aspects of social medicine whereby community solutions are found for the management of individual distress. Social disruption, isolation, conflict and neglect are the doors to the house of despair. While medicine must respond to those who enter that house, it is the social level at which we must be the architects of change. People will die.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Full text

PDF
482

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Ahmadi K. S., Goethe J. W., Adams M. L. Suicidal behaviors among Connecticut youth. Conn Med. 1991 Feb;55(2):76–80. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Ballinger B. R. Minor self-injury. Br J Psychiatry. 1971 May;118(546):535–538. doi: 10.1192/bjp.118.546.535. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Beratis S. Factors associated with adolescent suicidal attempts in Greece. Psychopathology. 1990;23(3):161–168. doi: 10.1159/000284654. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Byng-Hall J. Symptom bearer as marital distance regulator: clinical implications. Fam Process. 1980 Dec;19(4):355–365. doi: 10.1111/j.1545-5300.1980.00355.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Cantor C. H., Lewin T. Firearms and suicide in Australia. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 1990 Dec;24(4):500–509. doi: 10.3109/00048679009062906. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Casey D. A. Suicide in the elderly: a two-year study of data from death certificates. South Med J. 1991 Oct;84(10):1185–1187. doi: 10.1097/00007611-199110000-00006. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Davis A. T., Kosky R. J. Attempted suicide in Adelaide and Perth: changing rates for males and females, 1971-1987. Med J Aust. 1991 May 20;154(10):666–670. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1991.tb121254.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Diekstra R. F. Suicidal behavior and depressive disorders in adolescents and young adults. Neuropsychobiology. 1989;22(4):194–207. doi: 10.1159/000118617. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Eisenberg L. Treating depression and anxiety in primary care. Closing the gap between knowledge and practice. N Engl J Med. 1992 Apr 16;326(16):1080–1084. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199204163261610. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Ekeberg O., Aargaard I. Selvmord og selvmordsforsøk blant eldre. Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 1991 Feb 20;111(5):562–564. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Grossman D. C., Milligan B. C., Deyo R. A. Risk factors for suicide attempts among Navajo adolescents. Am J Public Health. 1991 Jul;81(7):870–874. doi: 10.2105/ajph.81.7.870. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Holinger P. C., Offer D. Prediction of adolescent suicide: a population model. Am J Psychiatry. 1982 Mar;139(3):302–307. doi: 10.1176/ajp.139.3.302. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Johnson F. G., Frankel B. G., Ferrence R. G., Jarvis G. K., Whitehead P. C. Self-injury in London, Canada: a prospective study. Can J Public Health. 1975 Jul-Aug;66(4):307–316. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Mao Y., Hasselback P., Davies J. W., Nichol R., Wigle D. T. Suicide in Canada: an epidemiological assessment. Can J Public Health. 1990 Jul-Aug;81(4):324–328. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. McClure G. M. Trends in suicide rate for England and Wales 1975-80. Br J Psychiatry. 1984 Feb;144:119–126. doi: 10.1192/bjp.144.2.119. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Murthy V. N. Personality and the nature of suicidal attempts. Br J Psychiatry. 1969 Jul;115(524):791–795. doi: 10.1192/bjp.115.524.791. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Pinto C., Koelmeyer T. D. Self inflicted deaths in Auckland: a study of 1057 cases. N Z Med J. 1991 Mar 13;104(907):88–89. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Ratzoni G., Blumensohn R., Apter A., Tyano S. Psychopathology and management of hospitalized suicidal Ethiopian adolescents in Israel. Isr J Med Sci. 1991 May;27(5):293–296. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Razin A. M., O'Dowd M. A., Nathan A., Rodriguez I., Goldfield A., Martin C., Goulet L., Scheftel S., Mezan P., Mosca J. Suicidal behavior among inner-city Hispanic adolescent females. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 1991 Jan;13(1):45–58. doi: 10.1016/0163-8343(91)90009-l. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Richman J., Rosenbaum M. A clinical study of the role of hostility and death wishes by the family and society in suicidal attempts. Isr Ann Psychiatr Relat Discip. 1970 Dec;8(3):213–231. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Rosen G. History in the study of suicide. Psychol Med. 1971 Aug;1(4):267–285. doi: 10.1017/s0033291700042239. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Roszkowska H., Goryński P. Zgony dzieci i młodziezy w Polsce w latach 1980-1985 z powodu urazow i zatruć. Przegl Epidemiol. 1990;44(3):231–239. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Schmidtke A., Weinacker B. Suizidraten, Suizidmethoden und unklare Todesursachen alter Menschen. Z Gerontol. 1991 Jan-Feb;24(1):3–11. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Shepherd D. M., Barraclough B. M. Work and suicide: an empirical investigation. Br J Psychiatry. 1980 May;136:469–478. doi: 10.1192/bjp.136.5.469. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Sverre J. M. Trends in suicide mortality among the elderly in Norway, 1966-1986. Epidemiology. 1991 Jul;2(4):252–256. doi: 10.1097/00001648-199107000-00003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The British Journal of General Practice are provided here courtesy of Royal College of General Practitioners

RESOURCES