Is there a suicide gene?

[syl1]

Read a really interesting article today. Is suicide hereditary? It was about the son of the authoress, Sylvia Plath. He has recently commited suicide, as did she. It went on to say research has indicated, that suicide does run in families. Fascinating, I thought.
Anyone have a view?

[lohi1]

Doubt it.
The thing is, that while scientists claim to find a gene for this and that, they really aren't sure.
A part of the gene MIGHT cause altering behaviour, but as of date, no foolproof evidence has been recorded.

[syl1]

The article.

In search of the suicide gene: Can it really be that a death wish runs in families? | Mail Online

[Ck]

I doubt there's a suicide gene no more than there's a bad with finances gene or a kind to animals gene or a good at cooking gene. What I think is that we learn from other people's behaviour and more so from the behaviour of people that we're close to.

There was a doctor who I knew who was married with three sons, one of the son's died in a terrible accident at quite a young age and his father never got over this and ended up taking his own life. A few years later one of his son's did the same and a few years after that his remaining son took his life too. The poor mother lost all three of her sons and her husband. It seems clear that the message he gave out to his son's was that he was obviously an intelligent man and capable of rational thought but sometimes the only escape from yourself is to end it all. If it's good enough for a GP and the father who loves you then it can't be that bad?

I also know someone who committed suicide who came from a good family with no history of even depression, never mind anything more serious, although it could be that he did have some sort of undiagnosed schizophrenia as he was in the right age bracket etc. Mental health problems can but don't always run in families so again i'm not so sure if it's always a gene or if it's due to their upbringing.

[sweeny todd]

i also dont know if ther is such a thing as a suicide gene all i know is that i feel very sorry for a person that is driven to distraction for whatever reason, and more so for the families left behind! it must be horendous for them also !!

[anancientrace]

I understand you "learn" at all sorts of level from your parents and siblings.

I cannot comment fully because of a complete decade without same. And I do not think many people know themselves that well, anyway. Well I certainly don't.

I would trust more that suicide within family groups is learnt - nurture rather than nature, is it?

It is a sad thing to learn but perhaps at some level we humans say if it is good enough for...

[syl1]

Studies have shown, that children who's parents have commited suicide, are about six times more likely, to kill themselves, than the rest of the population.
I wonder if thats because the parents were prone to depression. I do believe depression can be hereditery.
I cannot think of anything, harder to deal with, than a loved one, killing themselves.

[jezzi]

no...

if kids decide to kill themselves it's because there parents are shit.

[anancientrace]

To bring a wee bit of levity to this grimness - I have just issued an instruction to my particular "gene" if it exists.

It has been told to "kill itself"!

There! That is sorted.

Subject: au revoir - Bacons Rhinos Lion
Anagram: Our bio - Novel Inn - a cross hair

[karnautrahl]

no...

if kids decide to kill themselves it's because there parents are shit.

Evidence?

There could be some links to certain mental health problems for sure but a single gene? Unlikely.

Genes code for proteins not behaviour directly-consequential proteomic phenotype in interaction with the environment dictates the rest.

Like how I did that?
I jargonised nature vs nurture and said were both in one sentence :P