Premium
Suicide notes: what do they tell us?
Author(s) -
Ho T. P.,
Yip P. S. F.,
Chiu C.W. F.,
Halliday P.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1998.tb10121.x
Subject(s) - suicide prevention , poison control , medical emergency , human factors and ergonomics , injury prevention , occupational safety and health , psychology , medicine , psychiatry , criminology , pathology
Police investigation records of all suicide cases in 1992 ( n = 769) and the suicide notes that had been left (224 notes for 154 subjects) were examined. Note‐leavers were characterized as young females, of non‐widowed marital status, with no history of previous suicide attempts, no previous psychiatric illness, and with religious beliefs. Suicide notes written by young people were longer, rich in emotions, and often begging for forgiveness. Suicide notes written by the elderly were shorter, contained specific instructions, and were less emotional. A significant proportion of note‐leavers did mention their difficulties. Suicide notes may serve some explanatory purpose and may have a therapeutic role in helping the surviving relatives to understand the suicide. A knowledge of the messages contained within suicide notes could be useful for suicide prevention programmes. The significance of suicide notes is best understood within the context of the occurrence of suicides.