The psychological autopsy approach to studying suicide: a review of methodological issues

The psychological autopsy approach to studying suicide is becoming an incre asingly used research method. It presents considerable methodological probl ems. In order to assist future researchers in this field and to help reader s assess reports of psychological autopsy studies the authors have reviewed these issues on the basis of their own experience and those of other worke rs. The areas covered include research design, identification of subjects, sources of information and the particular issues concerned with approaching relatives and other informants, choice and recruitment of controls, the di fficulties of conducting psychological autopsy interviews with relatives, p roblems for interviewers, the selection of appropriate measures to obtain i nformation, and achieving valid and reasonably reliable conclusions from di verse information sources. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserv ed.