Psychological autopsy is a generic term used to describe a form of psychological assessment undertaken in a postmortem and postdictive capacity for determining various attributes in a person who is deceased. The goal and thus purpose of undertaking a psychological autopsy varies and is largely dependent on the circumstance in which the evaluation is being undertaken. In this respect, there are generally three broad contexts wherein psychological autopsies are used. The first is within the framework of an investigation into the death of an individual that has occurred in indeterminate and thus equivocal circumstances such as those undertaken by coroners. In this context, the purpose of a psychological autopsy is to assist in determining whether the deceased person’s demise was most likely due to natural ...

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