Suicide in Alcoholism (Monographs in Psychiatry: No. 1) [Hardcover]

George E. Murphy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 21, 1992 | ISBN-10: 0195071530 | ISBN-13: 978-0195071535 | Edition: 1

Alcoholics commit about 25% of the more than 30,000 suicides per year in the U.S. This unique, revealing study discusses 50 actual cases of alcoholics who took their lives. The first part of the book covers the background of the study, the method of investigation, and the life histories. This leads to the identification of seven risk factors for suicide in alcoholics, none of them acute. Comparing those findings to the same factors in groups of living alcoholics shows that the risk factors are all more frequently present in the suicides than the living alcoholics. Moreover, they act in a cumulative fashion: the greater the number of factors present, the greater the risk of suicide. The case histories describe how both alcoholism and its suicidal outcome span the ranges of age, sex, race and socioeconomic characteristics. This accessible work offers a broad understanding of the determinants and predictors of suicide in alcoholics, and indicates practical measures to prevent these suicides.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book presents a complete picture of suicide in alcoholism, a picture rich in detail and clinical wisdom. It allows a reader that opportunity to appreciate the author's reasoning and recommendations. When the author is George Murphy, this opportunity should not be missed." --Missouri Psychiatry

"The author, who is well-known in the area of suicide, has taken the complex and emotional topic of suicide in alcoholism and presented it in a logical, comprehensive and interesting format, using his expertise to describe in intimate detail the suicide of 50 alcoholics. . . . the details of these individuals' lives are much more fascinating than the short glimpses usually presented in case report literature. The author carefully explores and prioritizes the risk factors so that the reader will be able to evaluate systematically which alcoholic patients are at most risk for suicide. . . . the book motivates the reader to look long and hard at just how devastating the disease of alcoholism is to the alcoholic and to those whose loved one committed suicide." --The Psychiatric Times

"Murphy's approach encompasses psychological, medical, and psychiatric perspectives, and is a model for the kind of interdisciplinary integration necessary to psychological autopsy studies. Those who provide primary medical care, who work in emergency room settings, who specialize in treating patients with alcoholism, or who manage patients at risk for suicide will discover a great deal of useful clinical information in this engaging, well-written book. The volume represents a cogent and critical synthesis of clinical knowledge about the relationship between suicide and alcoholism, as well as a scientific milestone in suicide studies." --Suicide Research Digest

"This is an important book for clinicians and researchers interested in either suicide or alcoholism. Clinicians will enjoy the emphasis on a case history style, while clinical researchers will find this one of the most valuable research studies on this in the last 10 years....This excellent book will be engaging and helpful for many mental health professionals who deal with patients suffering from alcoholism--The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease

"This is a book that should be in any specialist library. . . . on an important subject that few others have investigated in such depth." --Alcohol and Alcoholism

"This excellent book takes a detailed look at suicide in a group of alcoholics from the St. Louis area. It is well-organized and a perfect example of good psychiatric epidemiology, presenting a detailed description of a research study on the phenomenology of suicide and alcoholism. It is eloquent interesting and at times almost captivating...the author presents his material so well that one's interest is sustained from page to page....It is well-written and a pleasure to read. Suicide in Alcoholism is a classic work that describes the risk factors for suicide among alcoholics. Books of this quality do not come along very often, and I highly recommend it."--Am. J. Psychiatry

Reviewed in Addiction

About the Author

George E. Murphy, M.D., is Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine. An internationally recognized expert on suicide, he is the author of more than 40 original publications on the subject. Dr. Murphy's other professional interests are in the diagnosis of affective disorders and in cognitive therapy of depression.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (May 21, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195071530
• ISBN-13: 978-0195071535
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,596,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.