ABSTRACT
The etiology of suicidal behavior is not well understood and we await a comprehensive theory of life-threatening behavior. Nonetheless there is certainly no shortage of suicide theories. Whether the wide variety of suicide theories represents richness or clutter is debatable. This chapter considers those theories of completed suicide that have, in addition to their historical importance, relevance to current notions about the genesis of suicidal acts. These sometimes disparate psychological theories have been organized into four categories: intrapsychic, interpersonal, psychological, and physiological. While one can describe suicidal behavior from, say, an intrapsychic perspective or a sociological point of view, no single discipline can capture the breadth and complexity of the field. The interpersonal perspective on suicide is certainly broader than that of most intrapersonal approaches. M. L. Farber's Integrative Psychological Theory conceptualizes suicide as a "disease of hope" in which social influences interact with psychological factors to define the hopelessness seen as a precursor of suicide.
