Suicide is a global public health problem, but very few theories have been developed for its etiology and effective prevention. Presented in this article is a comprehensive and parsimonious theory explaining the socio-psychological mechanism prior to suicidal behavior. Strain, resulting from conflicting and competing pressures in an individual’s life, is hypothesized to precede suicide. The strain theory of suicide (STS) proposes four sources of strain leading to suicide: (1) value strain from differential values; (2) aspiration strain from the discrepancy between aspiration and reality; (3) deprivation strain from the relative deprivation, including poverty; and (4) coping strain from deficient coping skills in the face of a crisis. This new model is built on previous notions of anomie (Durkheim, 1897/1951 ), strain theories of deviance (Merton, 1957 ) and crime (Agnew, 1992 ), although suicide is not a major target for explanation in those theories. Future research with rigorous quantitative data needs to be conducted to further test STS on a more comprehensive level.

中文翻译：

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自杀的应变理论

自杀是一个全球性的公共卫生问题，但针对其病因和有效预防的理论很少。本文介绍了一种全面而简约的理论，解释了自杀行为之前的社会心理机制。据推测，由于个人生活中相互矛盾和相互竞争的压力而导致的紧张情绪是自杀之前发生的。自杀应变理论（STS）提出了导致自杀的四个应变源：（1）从微分值中获取应变；（2）渴望与现实之间的差异引起的渴望压力；（3）相对贫困（包括贫困）带来的贫困压力；（4）面对危机时因缺乏应对技巧而承受的压力。这个新模型建立在先前的失范观念（Durkheim，1897/1951），应变偏离理论（Merton，1957年）和犯罪（Agnew，1992年），尽管自杀并不是这些理论中解释的主要对象。为了进一步更全面地测试STS，需要进行具有严格定量数据的未来研究。