Suicide and Its Prevention: The Role of Attitude and Imitation

In many countries of the world the number of persons that commit or attempt suicide has risen considerably over the past two decades. Particularly among young people suicide rates have increased dramatically, suicide now ranking as the second or third cause of death among them. The causes of this development have been questioned by health care workers, scientists and policy makers. Although much still remains unknown, it has become increasingly clear that one way in which a society affects the probability that an individual will die by his or her own hand is through the attitudes it adopts towards suicide. Modern society confronts people more and more often with attitudes and models, such as in the mass media, that express a permissive stance towards voluntary death in a variety of circumstances. Evidence suggest that imitation might indeed play a significant role in the frequency of suicide. A related aspect is the attitudes care givers entertain themselves towards suicide. This affects both the way in which they approach and treat individuals in suicidal crisis as well as the readiness of these individuals to look for professional help. The present volume presents an overview of important recent work on the influences of societal and care givers’ attitudes on suicide as well provoking premature suicidal deaths.