Suicide and family constellation in India.

The article first outlines historical suicide patterns. Case histories mirror a wide range of frustrations and family tensions in our present generation and show the socioeconomic, sociophilosophical, and cultural changes that are sweeping Indian society and are greatly adding to the tensions in life, resulting in a substantially higher occurrence of suicide. Varieties of family patterns are described that predispose an individual to suicidal behavior. It has been stressed that the single most important variable in the development of suicidal behavior remains the family unit.