Suicide - the magnitude of the problem.

Suicide is the second commonest manner of unnatural death flanked by accident and homicide. Suicide is by no means a simple issue, for it hinges on a spectrum of ethical, legal, sociological and psychological problems and it is yet to be offered an unequivocal and satisfactory answer to all the questions raised by this perplexing phenomenon. In an attempt to analyse the magnitude of the problem of suicide, this paper provides a comprehensive data encompassing the prevailing scenario of suicide, investigation of suicide as viewed by different workers and the importance of differentiation between accident, homicide and suicide The presentation is concluded by emphasizing the advantages of psychological autopsy in suicide investigation.

Para suicide: An approach to the profile of victims.

Suicide is the second commonest manner of unnatural death flanked by accident and homicide. Unlike suicide which terminates the human life forever, its counterpart, ‘Para suicide’ paralysis the human life either temporarily or permanently. Para suicide could not be taken as a lighter entity in the modern times, for it may prove as equally dangerous as suicide itself and sometimes perhaps more than that. The present study is an analysis of the spectrum of Para suicide in the terms of various sociodemographic / epidemiological features. The study presents the profile of suicide attempters, who reported / were brought to the Kasturba Hospital, Manipal, Coastal Karnataka, South India, over a span of twelve months with an alleged history of attempted suicide. The study sample comprised of 52 subjects who survived the attempt of suicide. Men (56%) considered as more vulnerable than women. Urbanites (80%) outnumbered the rural dwellers (20%). Thirty six percent of the attempters were in their third decade of life. Fifty six percent of the victims had had their education up to the Secondary School. Manual laborers (23%) were most vulnerable when compared to the skilled laborers and professionals (4% each). Ninety four percent of the subjects were the followers of Hindu religion. Married individuals (52%) and those from lower middle class sector (70%) attempted suicide more often. Presentation is concluded by the suggestion of probable preventive measures.