Chapter 15 - The Aggressive Implications of Suicide

Abstract

Nearly 1 million individuals die by suicide worldwide each year and suicide remains a leading cause of death in the United States, particularly among adolescents and young adults. Suicide continues to be a complex phenomenon that is not as yet completely understood. Suicide research tends to be difficult to conduct because the actual base rate for completed suicides is relatively low, and as a result of the low base rate, the false positive error rate for short-term prediction is high. At best, the prediction rate is said to be approximately 30%. Additionally, suicidal people are often excluded in clinical research and epidemiological studies, and inconsistent nomenclature for labeling suicide creates challenges in labeling suicide-related death.