Kennedy G J, Tanenbaum S
Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Director, Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA.
Psychiatr Q. 2000 Winter;71(4):345-62. doi: 10.1023/a:1004636307592.
From Durkheim to Kraepelin, suicide has been recognized as a social and psychiatric ill. Among clinical scientists in the United States, interest in suicide grew substantially in the 1980's as rates among older adults increased. However, major advances in the science of mental health seem unlikely to reduce the prevalence of suicide as long as case recognition at the community level continues to be problematic. Public policy promoted to reduce social risk factors coupled with greater attention to psychopathology is the logical outgrowth from the most recent data. Differences in suicide rates by nation add weight to the argument.
从涂尔干到克雷佩林，自杀一直被视为一种社会和精神疾病。在美国的临床科学家中，随着老年人自杀率的上升，20世纪80年代对自杀的关注大幅增加。然而，只要社区层面的病例识别仍然存在问题，心理健康科学的重大进展似乎不太可能降低自杀率。为减少社会风险因素而推行的公共政策，再加上对精神病理学的更多关注，是最新数据的合理结果。各国自杀率的差异进一步支持了这一观点。
