A Review of the Various Suicide Methods Used Around the World

Bidaki, Reza; Shirani, Shekoufeh; Shamsian, Mohammad; Poursarkhosh Tezerjani, Elham; Heidari, Fariba; Shirani, Banafsheh; Farsham, Aida

doi:10.15171/ijmr.2016.11

A Review of the Various Suicide Methods Used Around the World

Document Type : Mini Review

Authors

Reza Bidaki ¹

Shekoufeh Shirani ²

Mohammad Shamsian ³

Elham Poursarkhosh Tezerjani ³

Fariba Heidari ³

Banafsheh Shirani ⁴

Aida Farsham ⁵

¹ Research Center of Addiction and Behavioral Sciences, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran

² Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

³ Departments of Psychology, Yazd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yazd, Iran

⁴ Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran

⁵ Clinical Psychology, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran

10.15171/ijmr.2016.11

Abstract

Around 800 000 to 1 million people die by suicide annually, making suicide the 10th leading cause of death worldwide. Suicide rates are higher among men than women, and the probability of suicide is 3 to 4 times higher for men than for women. Non-lethal suicide is more common in young people and women. The type of suicide seen in different countries depends on the culture, economic, and social conditions in the respective country. Also, differences in types of suicide are partly due to the availability of various methods. In recent years, the percentage of suicides has risen in all countries. Surveys show that the most prominent methods of suicide in most countries in the world are hanging and poisoning. The most deadly type of suicide is by gun. The most unsuccessful suicide attempts are overdoses of medication. Knowing about the available suicide methods is important.

Keywords

Suicide

Type of Suicide

Countries