Psychological autopsy of suicide-a cross-sectional study.
BACKGROUND
Psychological autopsy is the reconstruction of events leading to death. There are few studies on psychological autopsy.


OBJECTIVE
To understand the profile of suicide completers and find out ways of dealing with it.


METHODS
Fifty suicide cases were analysed. Using a semi-structured, self-designed questionnaire, the family, friends and relatives of the deceased were interviewed.


RESULTS
The presence of some type of psychiatric disorder and stressful life events are two important reasons for committing suicide.


CONCLUSIONS
Psychological autopsy is a very important tool for assessing the causes and precipitants of suicide. More and more studies in this field are required with a larger sample size for the evaluation of suicides.
Khan
Farooq Ahmed
FA
Senior House Officer, Maudsley Hospital, London, UK.
Anand
B
B
Devi
M Gowri
MG
Murthy
K Krishna
KK