Research article summary (published 30 Dec 1996):

[Adolescence and chronic suicidal tendencies--the biography of the Italian poet Cesare Pavese (1908-1950)]

(Adoleszenz und chronische Suizidalität-die Biographie des italienischen Dichters Cesare Pavese (1908-1950).)

Full Abstract

Suicide is widely understood as a failed solution of a crisis triggered by actual stress in a psychologically predisposed person. This description of the biography of the Italian author Cesare Pavese (1908-1950), who committed suicide at the peak of his career, emphasizes that chronic suicidal tendencies may be a feature of certain life-styles. A diary published posthumously shows that he had been reflecting on suicide for many years. A psychodynamic interpretation of his chronic suicidal tendencies stresses the importance of developmental goals in adolescence and early adulthood. Pavese did not establish a firm ego-identity. He remained through-out his life in a state of ambivalence between intimacy and autonomy, typical of adolescence. He increasingly experienced his writing as a surrogate for real life. His suicide was the paradoxical attempt to experience himself as a person acting in reality.

Author information

Author/s: Scherbaum, N (N);

Affiliation: Klinik für Allgemeine Psychiatrie der Rheinischen Landes- und Hochschulklinik Essen.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Biography; English Abstract; Historical Article; Journal Article

Journal: Fortschritte der Neurologie-Psychiatrie (Fortschr Neurol Psychiatr), published in GERMANY. (Language: ger)

Reference: 1997-Jan; vol 65 (issue 1) : pp 16-22

Dates: Created 1997/05/01; Completed 1997/05/01; Revised 2008/11/21;

PMID: 9132365, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent Adult Famous Persons History, 20th Century Humans Italy

Italy Literature, Modern - history Male Medicine in Literature Poetry as Topic - history Suicide - history

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