Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Suicide: a concept analysis

  • Review Article
  • Published:
Journal of Public Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Suicide is a national and global phenomenon with its rate increasing every year inspite of clinicians, policy makers and researchers grappling with suicide prevention and investing heavily in risk assessment, prevention and reduction. There seems to be a gap in the understanding of suicide and its associated behaviours.

Aim

The aim of this review was to undertake a concept analysis of suicide and behaviour.

Method

The Walker and Avant eight-step method was adopted. Search engines including Academic Search Elite, CINAHL, Ovid Online embracing Embase and Ovid Medline were utilised to access articles published in the last 10 years, written in English, with abstracts and full text.

Results

The concept of suicide require understanding of implicity and explicity of suicidal intent and how these relate to suicide behaviour. Areas of risk assessment such as thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness should be considered. Associated with suicide are internal and external hazards, which tend to create vulnerability leading to suicidal behaviour. Clinicians should differentiate between suicide in the presence of mental illness and when there is a predicament. Risk assessment tools should not be taken as absolute as they do not provide 100 % detection of intent.

Conclusion

Understanding the concept of suicide would help clinicians comprehend their patients and suicidal behaviour and improve intervention methods.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Barker P, Cutcliffe R (2004) The nurses’ global assessment of suicide risk (NGASR): developing a tool for clinical practice. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs 11:393–400

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beck T, Kovas M, Weissman A (1979) Assessment of suicidal intent: the scale for suicide ideation. J Consult Clin Psychol 47(2):343–352

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beck TA, Brown G, Berchick JR, Stewart LB, Steir AR (2006) The relationship between hopelessness and ultimate suicide: a replication with psychiatric outpatients. J Lifelong Learn Psychiatry 42:291–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhui K, Mackenzie K (2008) Rates and risk factors by ethnic group for suicide within a year of contact with mental health services in England and Wales. Psychiatr Serv 59(4):414–420, http://www.ncb.nih.gov/pubmed/18378841. Accessed 18th July 2016

  • Bickley H, Hunt M, Windfurh K, Shaw J, Appley, L (2013) Suicide within two weeks of discharge from psychiatric inpatient care: a case–control study. http://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ps.201200026. Accessed 20 April 2014

  • Chapman Cl, Mullin K, Ryan CJ, Kuffel A, Nielson O, Large MM (2015) Meta-analysis of the association between suicidal ideation and later suicide among patients with either a schizophrenia spectrum psychosis or a mood disorder. http://www.ebscohost.com/academic/academic-search-elite. Accessed 18 July 2016

  • Conner K, Michael R, Phillips MD, Sean C, Meldrum MS (2007) Predictors of low-intent and high-intent suicide attempts in rural China. Res Pract 97(10):842–1848

    Google Scholar 

  • Cornette MM, Abramson LY, Bardon AM (2000) Towards an integrated theory of suicide behaviours: merging the hopelessness, self-discrepancy and escape theories. In: Joiner TE, Rudd MD (eds) Suicide science: expanding the boundaries. Academic/Pleum Publishers Kluwer, New York, pp 43–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Crosby A, Ortega L, Melanson C (2011) Self-directed violence surveillance: uniform definitions and recommended data elements. CDC, Atlanta

    Google Scholar 

  • De Leo D, Burgis S, Bertolote J, Kepkhof A, Bille-Brahe U (2004) Definitions of suicidal behaviour. In: De Leo D, Bille-Brahe U, Kerkhof A, Schimidtke (eds) Suicidal behaviour: theories and research findings pp 17–39

  • DOH (2015) Preventing suicide in England: two years on second annual report on the cross-government outcome strategy to save lives. DOH, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Durkheim E (1951) Suicide. Free Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Edge D, Rogers A (2005) Dealing with it: black Caribbean women’s response to adversity and psychological distress associated with pregnancy, child birth and early motherhood. http://www.ebscohost.com/academic/academic-search-elite. Accessed 18th July 2016

  • Evans P, Owen P, Marsh SC (2005) Environmental factors, locus of control and adolescent suicide risk. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 24(3–4):301–319

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Granello HD (2010) The process of suicide risk assessment: twelve core principles. J Couns Dev 88(3):363–370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawton K, Simkin S (2003) Helping people bereaved by suicide. Br Med J 327(7408):177–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horwitz AV, Wakefield JC (2007) The loss of sadness: how psychiatry transformed normal sorrow into depressive disorder. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Ishii T, Hashimoto, E, Ukai, W, Kakutani Y, Sasaki R, Sarito T (2014) Characteristics of attempted suicide by patients with schizophrenia compared with those with mood disorders: a case-controlled study in Northern Japan. http://www.ebscohost.com/academic/academic-search-elite. Accessed 18th July 2016

  • Joiner T (2005) Why people die of suicide. Harvard University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Koenig HG (2012) Religion, spirituality and health: the research and clinical implications. http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn/2012/278730/abs/ Accessed 18th July 2016

  • Langille DB, Asbridge M, Kisely S, Rasic D (2012) Suicidal behaviours in adolescents in Nova Scotia, Canada: protective associations with measures of social capital. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 47(10):1549–1555

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lindqvist P, Johansson L, Karlsson U (2008) In the aftermath of teenage suicide: a qualitative study of the psychosocial consequences for the surviving family members. BMC Psychiatry 8(26):1–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Mangnall J, Yurkkovich E (2008) A literature review of deliberate self-harm. Perspect Psychiatr Care 44(4):175–184

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maseko J, Patel V (2009) Why women attempt suicide: the role of mental illness and social disadvantage in a community cohort study in India. J Epidemiol Community Health 62:817–822

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLaughlin S, Baily D, Gwen B (2014) Improving confidence in suicide risk assessment. Nurs Times 110(27):16–18

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ngwena J (2014) Black and minority ethnic groups (BME) suicide, admission with suicide or self-harm: an inner city study. J Public Health 22:155–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nock MK, Borges G, Bromet EJ, Cha CB, Kessler RC, Lee S (2008) Suicide and suicidal behaviour. Epidemiol Rev 30:133–54, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18653727. Accessed 28 April 2014

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • ONS (2015) Suicides in the United Kingdom. National Statistics Institute, London, www.ons.gov.uk. Accessed 26 August 2015

    Google Scholar 

  • Oquendo MA, Posner K, Gould M, Stanley B, Davies M (2007) Columbia classification of algorithm of suicide assessment (C-CASA): classification of suicidal events in the FDA’s paediatric suicide risk analysis of antidepressant. Am J Psychiatry 164:1035–1043, www.http://cssrs.columbia.edu/. Accessed 15 February 2015

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Oxford Dictionaries (2015) Oxford dictionaries definitions. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/suicide. Accessed 9 March 2016

  • Pierce DW (1977) Suicidal intent in self-injury. Br J Psychiatry 130:377–385

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pompili M, Serafini G, Innamorati M et al (2010) Suicide behaviour and alcohol. Int J Environ Res Public Health 7:1392–1431, http://www.ebscohost.com/academic/academic-search-elite. Accessed 18th July 2016

  • Pridmore S, Jamil MY (2009) Two models of suicide. Aust Psychiatry 17(6):466–471

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider B, Grebner K, Schnabel A, Georgi K (2011) Is the emotional response of survivors dependent on the consequences of the suicide and the support received? Crisis 32(4):186–193

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shneidman E (1985) Defining suicide. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Siddamsetty AK, Aggarwal NK, Bhatia MS (2014) Concept of psychological autopsy. Delhi Psychiatr J 17(2):458–461

    Google Scholar 

  • Silverman MM, Berman AL, Sanddal ND, O’Carroll PW, Joiner TE (2007) Rebuilding the tower of Babel: a revised nomenclature for the study of suicide and suicidal behaviors: part 2: suicide-related ideations, communications and behaviours. Suicide Life Threat Behav 37(3):264–77, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17579539. Accessed 28 April 2014

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stefansson J, Nordstrom P, Jokinen J (2010) Suicide intent scale in the prediction of suicide. J Affect Disord 136:167–171

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart D, Ross J, Watson C, James K, Bowers L (2011) Patient characteristics and behaviours associated with self-harm and attempted suicide in acute psychiatric wards. J Clin Nurs 21:1004–1013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun FK (2011) A concept analysis of suicidal behaviour. Public Health Nurs 28(5):458–468

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sun FK, Long A, Tsao LI (2007) Patients’ and nurses’ perceptions of reasons why people attempt suicide in Taiwan. New Taipei Journal of Nursing 9:39–56, http://www.ebscohost.com/academic/academic-search-elite. Accessed 18th July 2016

  • Tucker P (2009) Substance misuse and early psychosis. Aust Psychiatry 17(4):1–5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Orden KA, Witte TK, Cukrowicz KC, Braithwaite SR, Selby EA, Joiner TE Jr (2010) The interpersonal theory of suicide. Psychol Rev 117:575–600

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Walker LO, Avant KC (2005) Strategies for theory construction in nursing. Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang MC, Lightsey OR Jr, Tran KK, Bonaparte TS (2013) Examining suicide protective factors among black college students. Death Stud 37(3):228–247, http://www.ebscohost.com/academic/academic-search-elite. Accessed 18th July 2016

  • Webster M (2010) Meridian dictionary. Encyclopaedia Britannica. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meridian. Accessed 28 April 15

  • Weiten W, Lloyd MA, Dunn D, Hammer E (2009) Psychology applied to modern life. Adjustment in the 21st Century, 9th edn. Cengage Learning, Wadsworth

  • Wu A, Wang JU, Jia CX (2015) Religion and completed suicide: a meta-analysis. Plos One. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0131715

    Google Scholar 

  • Yan T (2003) Elderly suicide among the social change in China. J Popul Res 27:38–73

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang C, Yuan G, Yao J, Cheng Z, Liu C (2011) Effect of tryptophan hydroxylase-2 rs7305115 SNP on suicide attempts risk in major depression. Behav Brain Funct 6:49

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of West London, Paragon House, Boston Manor Road, Brentford, TW8 9GA, UK

    Jerry Ngwena, Zaid Hosany & Irrah Sibindi

Authors
  1. Jerry Ngwena
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zaid Hosany
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Irrah Sibindi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jerry Ngwena.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declares that they does not have a conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ngwena, J., Hosany, Z. & Sibindi, I. Suicide: a concept analysis. J Public Health 25, 123–134 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-016-0768-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-016-0768-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation