Perturbation and Lethality as Precursors of Suicide in a Gifted Group

ABSTRACT: Thirty cases, for whom longitudinal personality data were available from 1921 to 1960, were analyzed. All the cases were Caucasian males with high I.Q.'s. Five individuals had committed suicide (all by gunshot), 10 (matched) individuals had died natural deaths from cancer or heart disease, and 15 were still living. A blind clinical analysis was conducted primarily in terms of two guiding concepts, perturbation and lethality, by means of a Meyerian “life chart” and a “psychological autopsy,” respectively. The results indicated that four of the five cases deemed to be most suicidal had, in fact, committed suicide—a chance probability of 1 out of 1,131. The prodromal clues—instability, trauma, and personality controls—are discussed. The role of the “significant other” and the “burning-out” of affect seem to be paramount. Suicide is seen as a discernible part of a life style and as a predictable outcome, in a person of 50, by the time that individual is 30 years old.