TY  - JOUR
T1  - SUicidal solution as a function of ego-closeness—ego-distance
AU  - Voth HM, Voth AC, Cancro R
Y1  - 1969/11/01
N1  - 10.1001/archpsyc.1969.01740230024004
JO  - Archives of General Psychiatry
SP  - 536
EP  - 545
VL  - 21
IS  - 5
N2  - TWENTY years ago A. C. Voth1 suggested a relationship between suicide and a limited capacity to experience autokinesis, a phenomenon which is best observed as apparent movement of a stationary pinpoint of light in a totally dark room. This relationship, which he had observed clinically ten years earlier, led to the prediction that persons who experience little or no autokinesis should be more prone to suicide and suicide attempts. The rationale underlying this prediction was based on the field-theoretical reality concepts of Kurt Lewin2 and J. F. Brown.3 It seemed logical to predict that persons who become entrapped in a rigid reality field of experience might, under conditions of unbearable personal stress, "choose" suicide as a means for escaping from their entrapment and distress. The ability to experience autokinesis was considered as a means for ascertaining the individual's ability
SN  - 0003-990X
M3  - doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1969.01740230024004
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1969.01740230024004
ER  -