title: [Psychological autopsy and its limitation in application].
abstract: The suicide were analyzed depending only on the death scene and cadaver features but not on the psychological autopsy (PA) that also enables the determination of the manner of death in China for a long time. There are significant differences between PA and the traditional risk assessment of suicide. The goals of PA are to find out the features of individuality, the patterns of behavior and the possible motives of suicide. The methods of PA involve investigating, collecting and analyzing all related information of the deceased. There are many limitations of PA in application mainly due to the lack of the standard procedures. Although an improved procedure has recently developed by Berman, many problems need to be solved before the actual application of PA in China.
authors.affiliation: The Laboratory of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, Department of Forensic Medicine, Zhongshan Medical College, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. tuwenqiang1986@163.com
authors.forename: Wen-Qiang
authors.initials: WQ
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.forename: Hu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D001344:Autopsy / Q000523:psychology*; D002423:Cause of Death; D003625:Data Collection / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000092864:Suicide Prevention