The role of the family in suicide

The suicide of an individual is the result of many forces converging at a point in time to bring about the lethal event. The forces are biological, physical, cultural, individual, and familial, the first two, nature, and the last three, nurture. While all forces contribute in varying degrees to every suicide, it is my strong conviction that the family is the most important in shaping those forces and in determining the eventual outcome. Thus, while acknowledging the contributions to suicide of neurological and metabolic dysfunction, the oppressive burden of physical disability in a health-conscious society, the cultural emphasis on individual versus societal obligations and rights, the personality variables of energy level, mood, temperament and self-esteem, it is my thesis that all of these are distinctly modified, shaped, directed and determined by the experiences of the individual within his family as he grows.