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Contemporary Definitions of Suicidal Behavior: A Systematic Literature Review
Author(s) -
Goodfellow Benjamin,
Kõlves Kairi,
Leo Diego
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1111/sltb.12457
Subject(s) - comparability , outcome (game theory) , underpinning , poison control , suicide prevention , human factors and ergonomics , agency (philosophy) , injury prevention , systematic review , psychology , occupational safety and health , causation , medicine , medline , medical emergency , sociology , epistemology , engineering , political science , social science , civil engineering , mathematics , mathematical economics , pathology , combinatorics , law , philosophy
To address the lack of comparability around the world, we conducted a systematic review of existing definitions of suicide and suicidal behaviors. In the literature, four key features appear to cover the vast majority of concepts underpinning definitions: agency, knowledge of a potential fatal outcome, intent, and outcome. Intent and outcome appear to be the most consensual features of definitions of suicide, albeit revealing interesting conceptual variations. The four key features could be used to devise a research tool able to explore the meanings of suicide across different countries and different cultures.