A developmental theory of suicide

Abstract

Suicide, a growing statistical ally of the grim reaper's harvest, is beginning to gain its due attention from governmental, medical, religious, and psychiatric circles. There are signals from the social scene which indicate that Americans are gradually acknowledging suicide as a tragic fact of life about which we want to do something besides feel ashamed, anxious, or guilty. Government sponsored research, suicide prevention centers, an international professional society, swirls of articles in professional, paraprofessional, and lay publications, police education ∗ ∗ To enlighten its force, the Chicago Police Department has produced a highly sensitive, powerful, and educational film on suicide and its immediate management. , legal arousal, liberalization of insurance company policy, and a journal of suicidology all give hints that public concern may someday eventuate in a “Suicide Prevention Fund” not unlike those of The Heart Fund, the American Cancer Society, or Easter Seal Campaigns. Significantly, the religious community's attitudes, which earlier viewed this act as a final sin, are altering. The Pastoral Care Movement (publishing articles like, “The Funeral of a Suicide” 1) is turning increased attention to this calamity. Not very long ago, the Anglican Church's position changed, granting the “Burial Office” for persons killed by their own hands. Modern theologians, like Tillich 2 and Bonhoeffer, move against the stigma of suicide toward its acceptance as a tragedy in similar company with mental illness. The social stigma of suicide has made study of the problem difficult, especially reliable reporting. These altering attitudes are likely to eventuate in a statistical “growth” in the reported 23,000 persons per year in the United States who die by self-destruction. But the problem is not changed by more realistic attitudes or figures. Like other human afflictions, its causes should offer avenues to cure or alteration. The intent of this communication is to further the understanding of the act by theory construct derived from contributions in the literature, other theories of suicide, and primarily from clinical observations. This paper's goals are (1) the formulation of a psychological theory of suicide's etiology, (2) integration of the formulation with clinical data, and consequently, (3) suggestions for management as they stem from the theory and clinical findings.