No access

Article

Published Online: February 1959

THE COMMUNICATION OF SUICIDAL INTENT: A STUDY OF 134 CONSECUTIVE CASES OF SUCCESSFUL (COMPLETED) SUICIDE

ELI ROBINS, SEYMOUR GASSNER, JACK KAYES, ROBERT H. WILKINSON, JR., and GEORGE E. MURPHYAuthors Info & Affiliations

Publication: American Journal of Psychiatry

Volume 115, Number 8

https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.115.8.724

Abstract

1. A study of the communication of suicidal ideas by 134 consecutive suicides has been done by means of systematic interviews with family, in-laws, friends, job associates, physicians, ministers, and others a short time after the suicide.

2. Two striking findings were that over two-thirds (69%) of the suicides had communicated suicidal ideas and that 41% had specifically stated they intended to commit suicide. In the majority of instances, the suicidal communications were of recent onset (months), repeatedly verbalized, and expressed to many persons.

3. Another striking finding was that 98% of these persons were probably clinically ill prior to their suicides.

4. The frequency of expression of suicidal ideas was not significantly related to age, sex, marital state, religion, whether living alone or not, clinical diagnosis, occupational status, income, or education. Chronic alcoholics had a somewhat greater tendency than the other diagnostic groups to make the specific statement that they intended to commit suicide.

5. The communication of suicidal ideas was analyzed as a general system of communication with reference to experimental psychological studies.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to American Journal of Psychiatry

Go to American Journal of Psychiatry

American Journal of Psychiatry

Volume 115 • Number 8 • February 1959

Pages: 724 - 733

PubMed: 13617503

History

Published in print: February 1959

Published online: 1 April 2006

Authors

Details

ELI ROBINS

The Dept. of Psychiatry and Neurology, Washington Univ. School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.

View all articles by this author

SEYMOUR GASSNER

The Dept. of Psychiatry and Neurology, Washington Univ. School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.

View all articles by this author

JACK KAYES

The Dept. of Psychiatry and Neurology, Washington Univ. School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.

View all articles by this author

ROBERT H. WILKINSON, JR.

The Dept. of Psychiatry and Neurology, Washington Univ. School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.

View all articles by this author

GEORGE E. MURPHY

The Dept. of Psychiatry and Neurology, Washington Univ. School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.

View all articles by this author

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Export Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu.

Format	RIS (ProCite, Reference Manager) EndNote BibTex Medlars RefWorks
Direct importt
Citation style
Style

Copy to clipboard
Tips for downloading citations

View Options

Login options

Already a subscriber? Access your subscription through your login credentials or your institution for full access to this article.

Personal login Institutional Login Open Athens login

Purchase Options

Purchase this article to access the full text.

PPV Articles - American Journal of Psychiatry

Not a subscriber?

Subscribe Now / Learn More

PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5-TR^® library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development.

Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).

View options

PDF/EPUB

Media

Figures

Other

Tables