AUSTRALIAN SUICIDE DATA AND THE USE OF UNDETERMINED DEATH CATEGORY (1968-1985)

There has been considerable recent debate about the impact that changes in the use of the “undetermined” death classification may have upon trends in national suicide statistics. This study focused on changes over time within each state in Australia in an attempt to determine the source of apparent patterns in national data. Considerable intra- and inter-state variability was revealed, and it was concluded that, apart from a general trend for decreasing use of the undetermined category, the data are not of sufficient quantity to warrant further interpretation. The suggestion that changes in classification practices by coroners may have contributed to the rise in young male suicides was not supported. © 1990, The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. All rights reserved.