Citation

Shneidman ES. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 1980; 10(3): 175-181.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1980, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

7210104

Abstract

Recently, Baechler (in his book Suicides) stated that the central question for suicidological investigation was: "What kind of people seek what solutions to what problems by means of suicide?" It can be argued that the principal problems of human beings relate to the frustration of their satisfaction of a variety of psychological needs. Thus, a full accounting of human needs might furnish a psychologically meaningful basis for a better understanding of suicidal events. Happily, such an explication already exists (in Henry Murray's Explorations in Personality). A classification of suicidal acts based on Murray's need system is proposed. A brief example is given.