The Significance of the Suicide Gesture in the Military
GARY J. TUCKER M.D.1, and
E. R. GORMAN 2
1 Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, Conn.
2 U. S. Naval Support Activity, Naples, Italy
The suicide gesture is most frequently a communicative act directed at the patient's environment. This study describes a group of military patients who have chosen this dramatic form of communication and highlights two important factors in their personality make-up: their intense need to resolve their perceived conflict and their sense of social isolation. Other distinctive demographic characteristics are also described.
