Skip to main content

Sage Social Science Thesaurus

Search from vocabulary

Content language

Concept information

... > social science subjects > sociology > aging and the life course > death and dying > death > suicide > altruistic suicide
... > social science subjects > health and social care > health sciences > death and dying > death > suicide > altruistic suicide
... > social science subjects > psychology > behavior mechanisms > human development > death and dying > death > suicide > altruistic suicide
... > social science subjects > counseling and psychotherapy > counseling > human development and life transitions > death and dying > death > suicide > altruistic suicide
... > social science subjects > psychology > behavior mechanisms > human development > death > suicide > altruistic suicide
... > social science subjects > sociology > sociology of organizations, institutions and structure > communities (sociology) > social life > death > suicide > altruistic suicide
... > social science subjects > sociology > social problems > social problems encyc > health (social problems) > suicide > altruistic suicide

Preferred term

altruistic suicide  

Definition

  • In modern medicine, suicide is largely understood as an outcome of depression, an act resulting from a trajectory of mental illness spiraling downward into that profound hopelessness from which the victim cannot recover: Killing oneself comes to be seen by the victim as the only way to relieve intense psychic pain, or the only way out of an intolerable situation. The final act of suicide can sometimes be delayed or prevented by the use of psychotherapy, drugs, and/or emergency hospitalization; long-term prevention strategies for repeat episodes of suicidality include treatment of the underlying illness and continuing surveillance for warning signals of self-destruction. [Source: Encyclopedia of Death and the Human Experience; Altruistic Suicide]

Broader concept

Belongs to group

URI

https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/altruistic_suicide

Download this concept:

RDF/XML TURTLE JSON-LD