INEbase / Statistics on suicide in Spain / General methodology

Objetives

The objective of the research is to study the suicides that take place in Spain.

The research has been carried out since the beginning of the 20th century, pursuant to the Royal Order of 8 September 1906.

Compilation

Until 31 December 2006, the main source for its compilation was the information provided by the Trial Courts and the Courts of First Instance and Trial, completing a quarterly bulletin for each case.

Beginning on 1 January 2007, and following the corresponding international standards, it has begun to use, as a source of information, that which serves for the Death Statistics According to Cause of Death, through the completion, by the legal bodies, of a two-part questionnaire: the first, for administrative purposes, includes the order of the registration of death in the Civil Register, and the second, for exclusively statistical purposes, includes the cause of death, among other variables.

Content

The version in force until the end of 2006 studied the acts of suicide, whether successful or attempted. It studied suicides, on the one hand, considering socio-demographic variables, such as sex, age and nationality of the suicidal person, as well as whether or not s/he had children.

It also studied other characteristics of the event, such as the means used, the causes, the place and the month in which the event took place.

Dissemination

Results are published annually, on national and Autonomous Community levels, on the INE website.