Suicide in a Heterogeneous Society

Abstract

An epidemiological approach to the problem of suicide may help to identify high risk groups and aid in the design of preventive programs. The aim of the present study was to determine the incidence of suicide among various population groups in Israel and to assess the methods employed. All records of suicide in Israel during the years 1962-63 were extracted from the files of the Central Bureau of Statistics, where data had been obtained from police records. Presentation will be limited to the Jewish population due to a lower reliability of data in the Arab segment.