(Nota: Artigo sem Tradução em Português)

According to Shneidman's definition (1981), the psychological autopsy is a retrospective reconstruction of a decedent's life initiated to get a better understanding of his death.

 

The information collected with the psychological autopsy method is of great value to determine and clarify the equivocal death within the NASH(1) classification. Most of death certificates are inaccurate with respect to the modes and may balance between suicide or homicide, but they also may balance within one of the four categories or between them. For example, a death by asphyxiation due to drowning doesn't specify if it was accidental, homicidal or suicidal. This brings another Shneidman's concept of equivocal death, which means that the exact mode of death is unclear despite the medical autopsy ruled asphyxiation as the cause.