Age, suicide, science, and clinical psychology: A review of A. Leenaars (Ed.), Life span perspectives of suicide.

Reviews the book, Life span perspectives of suicide edited by A. Leenaars (see record 1991-97542-000). There is an ever-growing literature on suicide, much of which seems redundant. Accordingly, I look for novel data and true theoretical progress in the context of modern science. This volume promises a unique focus on developmental variations in suicidal behaviour, which should be quite timely. The editor and author of several chapters, Antoon Leenaars, is a highly respected activist in suicide prevention. Among the 20 chapters with 21 authors, the quality varies from enlightening to very disappointing. While this volume has some very strong chapters that meet scientific criteria while providing fresh insights and stimulus for research, some of the chapters unfortunately leave me with serious scientific concerns. I would like to see integration of new data with modern science, rather than conjecture through outdated hypothetical constructs. In particular, much of the chapter on suicide in middle adulthood by Balance and Leenaars reads like a list of Freud's concepts, as if there had been no progress in the psychology of middle adulthood during the last half century. Another concern is that clinical and scientific judgements sometimes become confused in this volume, as is often true of suicide research. Leenaars approaches suicide evaluatively, repeatedly stating that it is tragic and to be eradicated. However noble, when matters of fact are under discussion, this violates the longstanding scientific tradition of objectivity. Finally, none of the authors has made any reference whatsoever to biological theories of aging and senescence, when so much insight could be gained. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)