Explaining Suicide

The rate of suicides across all age groups except the elderly is at its highest level in nearly 30 years. Suicide notes have long been thought to be valuable resources for understanding suicide motivation, but up to now the small sample sizes available have made an in-depth analysis difficult. Explaining Suicide: Patterns, Motivations, and What Notes Reveal represents the first large-scale analysis of suicide motivation across multiple ages in the same time period. This was made possible via a unique dataset of all suicide notes collected by the coroner’s office in southwestern Ohio 2000–2009. Based on an analysis of this dataset and those from other European and Oceanic studies, the book identifies top motivations for suicide, how these differ between note leavers and non-note leavers, and what this can tell us about better suicide prevention. The book reveals the extent to which suicide is motivated by interpersonal violence, substance abuse, physical pain, grief, feelings of failure, and mental illness. The book additionally discusses other risk factors, what differentiates suicide attempters from suicide completers, and lastly what might serve as protective factors toward resilience. Analyzes data from 1200+ suicides from a single year in one coroner’s office Identifies the top motivations for suicide that are based on suicide notes Discusses the extent to which suicides are impulsive vs. planned Leads to a better understanding on how to prevent suicide/treat the suicidal