The strategic function of attempted suicide.
Attempting suicide is regarded as a strategy for getting out of emotionally troublesome situations. This strategy is a bodily and risky 'cry for help', but also a cry for help with almost certain success as the bodily self-damage forces significant others to show indulgent behaviour. As this indulgent behaviour has the actual function to relieve significant others from feelings of guilt and from real social pressures, it very often diminishes with time, so that the effect of the 'attempted suicide strategy' proves to be very short. The relation between this concept and some epidemiological findings is discussed and the consequences of this approach for the management of attempted suicides are pointed out.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003419:Crisis Intervention; D005190:Family; D006167:Guilt; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D011582:Psychological Theory; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000517:prevention & control