In Reply.—
Cull et al made a number of points, and I will comment on each.1. They were puzzled about the relevance of my two assumptions to the study. I simply inserted these to make it clear that I was not going to consider whether suicide is invariably irrational or pathologic, or whether it should in every conceivable instance be stopped.2. They were critical of the average age of the references. My article was not a literature review, and the references were included to explain and justify the procedures. Since this was a longitudinal study with a two-year intake and a four- to six-year follow-up, preceded by grant requests and reviews and followed by time for analysis and publication, it should not be surprising that the research studies and instruments used in the project are now ten or more years old.3. They stated that the study was just another