Understanding Suicide in the United States

By integrating sociological, psychological, and biological perspectives on the etiology of suicide, this book provides a concise overview of what is known about its assessment, prevention, and treatment. Its broad perspective makes it relevant to general readers and researchers in biology, psychology, sociology, psychiatry, politics and policy.

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By integrating sociological, psychological, and biological perspectives, this book aims to demystify and destigmatize a challenging and taboo topic – suicide. It weaves current theories and statistics on suicide into a larger message of how suicide can affect almost anyone, and how urgent prevention needs are. Written in an accessible manner, it assumes no pre-existing knowledge of suicide. The broad nontechnical overview will appeal to general readers and a wide range of disciplines, including politics and policy, biology, psychology, sociology, and psychiatry. It concludes on a positive note, focused on recovery, resilience, and hope. It considers not only how these factors may play a role in suicide prevention, but how, despite persistent suicide rates, we can proceed optimistically and take concrete action to support loved ones or promote suicide prevention efforts.