psychological autopsy


A procedure for investigating a person's death by reconstructing what the person thought, felt, and did before death, based on information gathered from personal documents, police reports, medical and coroner's records, and face-to-face interviews with families, friends, and others who had contact with the person before the death

psychological autopsy

Psychiatry An autopsy that analyzes the cause(s) of death, examining the body and the circumstances–natural or unnatural that led to death; in the 'usual' death, a person suffers from a known set of morbid condition(s) and dies as a natural consequence of the terminal progression of those conditions; in 'unnatural' death–eg, homicide or suicide, determination of nosology is more difficult and requires analysis of circumstances preceding death; a PA focuses on the decedent's intentions relating to his own death, especially suicide

psychological autopsy

An attempt to determine what, if any, emotional or psychological factors caused or contributed to an individual's suicide.See also: autopsy