Skip to main content

Models of Suicide and Their Implications for Suicide Prevention

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Suicide Risk Assessment and Prevention
  • 37 Accesses

Abstract

Suicidal behavior is highly complex and multifaceted. Consequent to the pioneering work of Durkheim and Freud, theoreticians have attempted to explain the biological, social, and psychological nature of suicide. The present work presents an overview and critical discussion of the most influential theoretical models of the psychological mechanisms underlying the development of suicidal behavior. All have been tested to varying degrees and have important implications for the development of therapeutic and preventive interventions. Broader and more in-depth approaches are still needed to further our understanding of suicidal phenomena.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Beck AT, Weissman A, Lester D, Trexler L. The measurement of pessimism: the hopelessness scale. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1974;42:861–5.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Belsher BE, et al. Prediction models for suicide attempts and deaths. JAMA Psychiat. 2019;76:642–51.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Clarke RV, Lester D. Suicide: closing the exits. New York: Springer; 1989.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  4. Durkheim E. Le suicide. Paris: Felix Alcan; 1897.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Franklin JC, Robeiro JD, Fox KR, Bentley KH, Kleinman EM, Nock MK. Risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behavior. Psychol Bull. 2016;143:187–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Gibbs JP, Martin WT. A theory of status integration and its relationship to suicide. Am Sociol Rev. 1958;23:140–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Harrington A. Mind fixers: psychiatry’s troubled search for the biology of mental illness. New York: W. W. Norton; 2019.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Hawton K, Townsend E, Deeks J, Appleby L, Gunnell D, Bennewith O, Cooper J. Effects of legislation restricting pack sizes of paracetamol and salicylate on self-poisoning in the United Kingdom. Br Med J. 2001;322:1203–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Henry AF, Short JF. Suicide and homicide. Glencoe: Free Press; 1954.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Hjelmeland H, Knizek BL. The emperor’s new clothes: a critical look at the interpersonal theory of suicide. Death Stud. 2020;44:168–78.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Jakobsen JC, et al. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors versus placebo in patients with major depressive disorder. BMC Psychiatry. 2017;17:58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Jobes DA. Managing suicidal risk. New York: Guilford; 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Joiner TE. Why people die by suicide. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Lester D. A subcultural theory of teenage suicide. Adolescence. 1987;22:317–20.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Lester D. Suicide from a sociological perspective. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas; 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Lester D. Is there a need for suicide prevention? Crisis. 1992;13:94.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Lester D. Reflections on the statistical rarity of suicide. Crisis. 1994a;15:187.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Lester D. Applying Durkheim’s typology to individual suicides. In: Lester D, editor. Durkheim’s Le Suicide one hundred years later. Philadelphia: Charles Press; 1994b. p. 224–36.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Lester D. Oppression and suicide. Suicidology Online. 2014a;5:59–73.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Lester D. Rational suicide. Is it possible? Reflections on the suicide of Martin Manley. Hauppauge: Nova; 2014b.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Lester D, Yang B. The economy and suicide. Commack: Nova Science; 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Lester D, Beck AT, Mitchell B. Extrapolation from attempted suicides to completed suicides. J Abnorm Psychol. 1979;88:78–80.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Levy JE. The effects of labeling on health behavior and treatment programs among North American Indians. Am Indian Alsk Native Ment Health Res Monogr Ser. 1988;1:211–31.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Litman RE. Sigmund Freud on suicide. In: Shneidman ES, editor. Essays on self-destruction. New York: Science House; 1967. p. 324–44.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Maris RW, Berman AL, Maltsberger JT, Yufit RI, editors. Assessment and prediction of suicide. New York: Guilford; 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Menninger K. Man against himself. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World; 1938.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Neuringer C. Methodological problems in suicide research. J Consult Psychol. 1962;26:273–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Palmer A, Cates ME, Gorman G. The association between lithium in drinking water and incidence of suicide across 15 Alabama counties. Crisis. 2018;40:93–9.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Pescosolido BA. The social context of religious integration and suicide. Sociol Q. 1990;31:3370357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Pigott HE. STAR*D: a tale and trail of bias. Ethical Hum Psychol Psychiatry. 2011;13:6–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Platt SD. Unemployment and suicidal behavior. Soc Sci Med. 1984;19:93–115.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Regier DA, Boyd JH, Burke JD, Rae DS, Myers JK, Kramer M, et al. One-month prevalence of mental disorders in the United States. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1988;45:977–86.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Reynolds FMT, Berman AL. An empirical typology of suicide. Arch Suicide Res. 1995;1:97–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Richman J. Family therapy for suicidal people. New York: Springer; 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Roberts RE, Chen YR, Roberts CR. Ethnocultural differences in prevalence of adolescent suicidal behaviors. Suicide Life Threat Behav. 1997;27:208–17.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Stack S. The effect of religious commitment on suicide. J Health Soc Behav. 1983;24:362–74.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Wilkins J. Suicidal behavior. Am Sociol Rev. 1967;32:286–98.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Yufit RI, Lester D, editors. Assessment, treatment, and prevention of suicidal behavior. New York: Wiley; 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Zhang J. From psychological strain to disconnectedness. Crisis. 2016;37:169–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David Lester .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Lester, D. (2021). Models of Suicide and Their Implications for Suicide Prevention. In: Pompili, M. (eds) Suicide Risk Assessment and Prevention. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41319-4_1-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41319-4_1-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-41319-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-41319-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics