Citation

Reshetnikov MM. Psychology, Journal of the Higher School of Economics 2020; 17(1): 43-59.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020)

DOI

10.17323/1813-8918-2020-1-43-59

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In this paper, traditional and novel forms of suicidal behavior are analyzed from the perspective of the death drive. Special attention is paid to such phenomena as "death groups" and "suicide terrorism". Previously, suicide was described as a singular act voluntarily and independently committed by an individual, but in the recent decades, hundreds of episodes have occurred, in which suicidal individuals killed dozens or even hundreds of innocent people together with themselves.

RESULTS of psychoanalytic studies of suicidal behavior are analyzed, in particular, "Studies of hysteria" (the case of Anna O.), "The Wolf Man", "The Rat Man", "The case of Dora", "Psychoanalytic notes on a case of paranoia", "On the psychogenesis of a case of female homosexuality", "Mourning and melancholy". Such contemporary societal problems as loss of meaning and perverted ideological attitudes are discussed as an influential cause of increase in aggressive and suicidal behavior. © 2020 National Research University Higher School of Economics. All rights reserved.

Language: ru

Keywords

Suicide; Suicide terrorism; Death groups; Loss of meaning; Motives of suicidal behavior