title: Suicide note and the psychological autopsy: Associated behavioral aspects.
abstract: When a death occurs under traumatic, ambiguous, unknown, or uncertain circumstances, a death of suicidal origin can be considered. On many occasions, a suicide note is found next to body that helps to clarify certain aspects needed for the investigation to elucidate whether the death is really due to suicide or other causes. There are several types of suicide note (farewell, instructions, accusation of others, request for forgiveness, justification of one&#8217;s own suicide) that can contribute to the study of the victim&#8217;s psychological state and the circumstances that led to death. There is no unanimously approved way to conduct the psychological autopsy, but there are protocols for obtaining relevant information and preparing the report.
authors.affiliation: Psicóloga Especialista en Psicología de Emergencias y Catástrofes. Miembro fundador de SEPADEM (Sociedad Española de Psicología Aplicada a Desastres, Urgencias y Emergencias).
authors.forename: Maria Patricia
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Acinas
authors.affiliation: Psicólogo. Jefe del Servicio de Psicología del Hospital Central de la Defensa.
authors.forename: José I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Robles
authors.affiliation: Doctora en Psicología. Profesora del Departamento de Psicología Social, Antropología Social, Trabajo Social y Servicios Sociales Universidad de Málaga.
authors.forename: M Ángeles
authors.initials: MÁ
authors.lastname: Peláez-Fernández
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D063545:Personal Narratives as Topic; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*; D014956:Writing