title: Who leaves suicide notes? A six-year population-based study.
abstract: Popular culture insists on the significance of suicide notes, but research has yielded conflicting results about who leaves notes. Utilizing 6 years of suicides from a comprehensive statewide data surveillance system, differences were examined between cases with suicide notes and those without in terms of demographics, circumstances of the suicide, and precipitating circumstances. Of the 2,936 suicides, 18.25% included a note. Demographics and circumstances did not differ for cases with a note compared to cases with no note. Results have implications for working with people bereaved by suicide in helping understand that the notes are uncommon and not systematic. However, it is also possible that for some individuals, the content of a note is meaningful and can help or hinder their course of bereavement.
authors.affiliation: College of Social Work, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cerel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY, USA.
authors.forename: Melinda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: College of Public Health, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
authors.forename: Margaret M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: College of Social Work, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
authors.forename: Judy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van de Venne
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY, USA.
authors.forename: Sabrina L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001601:Bereavement; D015709:Correspondence as Topic; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000092864:Suicide Prevention