The historical contingency of suicide: A case-based comparison of suicides in New Zealand in the 1930s and 1980s

This paper is a case-based comparison of suicides in New Zealand in the 1930s and 1980s and draws from coronial inquest data covering almost 3000 suicides. A purpose of the paper is to demonstrate that no single discipline or methodology has a monopoly of understanding of suicide. Each has it limitations and strengths. All can make a contribution to understanding, including historical enquiry. The latter affords opportunities to consider how economic and cultural trends characteristic of eras affected the outcomes of acute personal crises. In brief, the so-called 'eternal' motivations to suicide - including physical suffering, financial distress, mental illness, romantic disappointment and social disgrace - are mediated through the social milieu of the time