Citation

Bossarte RM, Caine ED. Inj. Prev. 2008; 14(1): 2-3.

Affiliation

Department of Community Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA. (rbossarte@hsc.wvu.edu)

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/ip.2007.017772

PMID

18245306

PMCID

PMC2885786

Abstract

A continued reliance on population-level risk characteristics to address an outcome that is inherently multidimensional and interactive will fall short of meeting the needs of the suicide research and prevention community. Risk of death from suicide is not evenly distributed across individuals, groups, or geographic areas, and consideration of relevant risk factors should include individual, family, and community level factors.

Carefully designed research, including in-depth psychological autopsy studies, will be necessary to learn about suicide among youth, ethnically and culturally diverse groups, women, and populations that inhabit distinctive geographic regions. Without these investigations, it will not be possible to establish the foundation for future work that will seek to examine the relative contributions to suicide of genetic, molecular, cultural, social, experiential, psychological, and psychopathological factors. Ultimately, we will need such integrative understanding to optimally prevent these untimely deaths.

Language: en