Citation

Miller MA, Miller YN. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 1988; 18(4): 303-321.

Affiliation

Department of History, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1988, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

3064364

Abstract

This study was conducted in order to obtain information on suicide in the Soviet Union, an important subject for which we have no scientific literature. Studies of attempted suicide in Soviet psychiatric journals were analyzed. This information was supplemented by interviews with Soviet psychiatrists now living abroad. The results of this inquiry show that suicide is a subject that clearly has become of increasing concern in the Soviet Union. Furthermore, in spite of the absence of essential statistical data on mortality, there is evidence indicating that the rate of Soviet suicide may be rising in certain parts of the country. Finally, growing concern about suicide has led to expanded prevention programs and to a new emphasis on social and psychological etiological explanations. In particular, the role of the Soviet family in crisis has been emphasized as a major influence in understanding the causes of suicidal attempts.