Suicide Attempted Suicide Author:Erwin Stengel Every year in Britain more than 5,500 people kill themselves and at aleast 30-40,000 attempt suicide. The number of those who at some point in the lives have made a suicidal attempt cannot be less than half a million. Self-destruction is both a pesonal tragedy and a social problem. — What defines the suicidal attempt? Are there important diffe... more »rences in, for example, age, sex, choice of method and motivation, between the suicide and the attempted suicide? What factors--loneliness? city life? mental illness? family trouble?--correlate with both the suicide and the attempt? How do we assess the 'seriousness of an attempt? Why are the popular terms 'successful' and 'unsuccessful' suicide dangerously misleading? What are the social effects of suicidal acts? What may be the reasons for the alarming increase in suicidal attempts in recent years?
Professor Stengel's authority and, in particular, his research on attempted suicide, make this a book of real importance. The author draws throughout on a wealth of international research into the incidence, methods, and social and personal dynamics of suicidal acts. This book ends with a review of short-term 'samaritan' measures of prevention and a plea for a profound change in social living.« less