Suicide - the magnitude of the problem.

ABSTRACT

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.