[Suicidal behavior and the broken home. Critical evaluation of a "causal hypothesis"]

It has often been hypothesized that a broken home results in a "predisposition" towards suicidal behaviour. Previous findings concerning the incidence of broken homes among suicides have revealed rates that are considerably higher than might have been expected from the base rate of the incidence of broken homes among the population as a whole. However, when considering these results, it is necessary to take into account a number of general methodological problems as well as specific problems inherent in the study of the causes of suicidal behaviour. Therefore, due to methodological objections, it can be assumed that the covariation between the variable, broken home, and suicidal behaviour, as compared with other psychiatric disturbances, has been overestimated. It seems more likely that a broken home, in combination with the simultaneous and subsequent emergence of adverse circumstances, increases the probability of the appearance of deviant behaviour in general. Therefore, it would appear that the most useful approach for understanding suicidal behaviour is to analyse the learning history and background of patients who have exhibited such behaviour, while the variable, broken home, should be regarded as being only one of several factors conditioning the failure to develop or apply adequate coping strategies.