Psychological autopsy of suicide—a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Psychological autopsy is the reconstruction of events leading to death. There are few studies on psychological autopsy. AIM: To understand the profile of suicide completers and find out ways of dealing with it. METHODS: Fifty suicide cases were analysed. Using a semi-structured, self-designed questionnaire, the family, friends and relatives of the deceased were interviewed. RESULTS: The presence of some type of psychiatric disorder and stressful life events are two important reasons for committing suicide. CONCLUSION: Psychological autopsy is a very important tool for assessing the causes and precipitants of suicide. More and more studies in this field are required with a larger sample size for the evaluation of suicides.