A cognitive understanding of adolescent suicide

Suicide ultimately requires a decision. In this article, I review a number of cognitive concepts--decision making, the development of a suicide schemata, covert rehearsal, cognitive rigidity, and time perspective--and I propose a model suggesting that suicide can be understood as an essentially cognitive act affected by these elements. The model highlights the importance of distortions of time perspective as a precursor for suicidal behavior. I propose this model as an additional set of explanatory factors to those commonly in use, such as family and peer estrangement and life events.