Premium
Theoretical Grounding: The “Missing Link” in Suicide Research
Author(s) -
Rogers James R.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of counseling and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.805
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1556-6676
pISSN - 0748-9633
DOI - 10.1002/j.1556-6676.2001.tb01939.x
Subject(s) - suicidology , social connectedness , meaning (existential) , epistemology , existentialism , argument (complex analysis) , generalization , grasp , psychology , sociology , computer science , social psychology , poison control , human factors and ergonomics , philosophy , medicine , environmental health , programming language , biochemistry , chemistry
This article discusses the strengths and limitations of the current pragmatic focus of research in suicidology and presents an argument for theoretical grounding as a precursor for continued advancement in this area. An existential‐constructivist framework of “meaning creation” is presented as a theoretical heuristic for understanding suicide. This formulation focuses on the basic human quest for meaning and connectedness as the underlying motivations for individual constructions of reality. Finally, the model outlines general areas of challenge and stress that may provide pathways to suicide and provides a general discussion of the implications of the model for research and practice.