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A taxonomy of suicide
Objective: Suicide has been known in all peoples, in all countries across time. We are just emerging from a two-century era in which the official dogma was that all suicide was the result of mental disorder. The aim of this paper is to conduct a broad review and construct a taxonomy of suicide which will increase our understanding of the pathways to suicide, which will in turn assist in management of suicide.
Method: We reviewed much clinical, psychological, sociological, philosophical and theological material. We constructed a taxonomy (a constellation of categories) and reviewed public records for accounts of suicide. We attempted to fit the public record cases to the taxonomy to test its legitimacy.
Results: The public record cases fitted our taxonomy, establishing its legitimacy. Nine categories were identified, two featured mental disorder (1, psychosis; 2, non-psychotic mental disorder), and five featured precise loss (3, partner/family members; 4, fortune/assets; 5, status/reputation; 6, freedom; 7, physical health). In addition, one category (8) featured generalized loss/tedium vitae, and one (9) featured unexplained suicide.
Conclusion: A taxonomy of suicide is presented which finally discredits the claim that all suicide is the consequence of mental disorder and assists in understanding and hopefully the management of suicide.
History
Publication title
Dynamics of Human HealthVolume
10ISSN
2382-1019Department/School
Tasmanian School of MedicinePublisher
Good Life Research Centre TrustPlace of publication
New ZealandRepository Status
- Restricted