Objectives: This study was designed to examine the demographic features, correlates, motives and the status of the people who commit self-burning behavior. Method: In a descriptive study, 318 self-burning cases admitted within a period of three years to the only burn center in the province of Mazandaran were studied through a demographic questionnaire and a semi- structured interview. Findings: The average age of subjects was 27 and 83% of them were females. Most of the subjects were married housewives with an education at the high school level. 62% of the subjects had engaged in self- burning behavior impulsively. The major reasons for self- burning were assessed to be family feuds and marital discords. The occurrence of self-burning was mostly common in the day time hours and in spring season; the resulting mortality rate was 79%. In the follow-up survey, a male subject was reported to have died of self-hanging suicide 6 years later. An 8-10 year follow up showed no repetition of self-burning amongst the subjects in the study. Results: The demographic features and motivation indicators of the subjects suggest different preventive measures in various situations.

Introduction: Annually, about one million persons attempt to suicide and averagely, one person suicides in every forty seconds. According to the world official statistics about one-third (27%-37%) of the suicides are caused by self-burning. In accords with the reports of deaths registration system in Iran, eleven people daily die because of suicide and one-third of them end their life by self-burning.The aim of the study was to evaluate the percentages of burning in subjects who committed to self-burning in the province of Ilam between 1372-1385.Materials & Methods: In the cross-sectional study all documents of patients with the history of burning were separated at the hospital of Taleghani in the province of Ilam during 1372-1385. About 587 cases of the patients had committed to burn themselves. Then, some information such as age, sex, level of education, marital status, percentage of burning and etc were recorded in a standard questionnaire. Data were analyzed by Chi-square test, regression models and analysis of variance (ANOVA).Findings: Eighty percent of the patients were female with a mean age of 26. With the elevation of each year of age, the rate of suicide by burning was increased by 0.13%. The rate of mortality in subjects who committed to self-burning was 73% and the mean percentage of their burning was 82%. The majority of the patients were married and unemployed with low level of education. 86.67% and 75.9% of the patients had a history of physical illness and educational problems, respectively. Psychotic disorders were detected among 74.73% of the cases. The rate of self-burning was 82% among subjects who had graduated from high school. Most of the suicides by burning had been occurred in winter and to lesser extent in summer.Discussion & Conclusion: Self-burning is the most common method of suicide in the province of Ilam, Iran. Although, the most of risk factors for suicide in our study were similar to those that have been known in the literature, we found that the high risk groups were married women and the most important risk factors of self-burning included, physical illness, education problem, unemployment, psychotic problem and other social factors. The findings of the study could be helpful and may offer strategies to decrease the rate of suicide in the province of Ilam.

To find the possible correlation between irrational believes and attempting suicide, a cross- sectional study involving two groups was performed. The first group consisted of 50 suicide attempted (self-burning) persons referred to Motahhari and Towhid burning hospitals of Tehran, during a six-month period. The second group consisted of the persons, with no psychological disorders, selected randomly from the normal population. The Irrational Belief Test (IBT) and checklist symptoms (scl-90) were used as tools of assessment. The results showed that the rates of the following irrational believes: "Demand for approval", "High self expectation", "Blame proneness", "Frustration reactive", "Emotional irresponsibility", "Anxious over concern" and "Helplessness for change" were significantly (P<0.05) different between two groups. There were no significant differences in: "Depert4ency", "Problem avoiding" and "Perfectionism" between two groups. Therefore, compared to healthy group, the rate of some irrational believes is higher in suicide attempted persons, that may act as predisposing factors for suicide.

Self-burning is the most devastating burn injury. It is a common social and medical problem in Iran. In a longitudinal prospective study, from April 2003 to March 2006, all burn patients admitted to Ghotb-eddin burn Hospital were enrolled in this study. Suicide attempts by burning accounted for 283 (21.9%) of all burn patients admitted to the hospital. Most (68.2%) of self-burning patients were female. Self-burn patients had significantly large burned body surface area (64.8±29%). Suicidal burns occurred predominantly in the age group 15-24 years (44.6%). The mortality rate for suicidal burns was (60.4%). Fars is a province composed of many different tribes and cultural minorities whereby major decisions are made by forums of clergymen. It is important to involve those clergymen in burn prevention programs to achieve a meaningful reduction in Self-burning prevalence.

This research investigates the range of self-burning in Gilan-e-Gharb from 1379 to 1384. It is a descriptive research and its statistical population consists of people who committed suicide in Gilan-e-Gharb between 1379 and 1384. Because of limited population of the region, almost all of them have been studied.Finally, after some reductions, 410 cases of deadly suicide were reported. And 49 persons had committed self-burning. The research tool was a questionnaire of personal and demographic characteristics which was given to the families of victims. The statistical techniques were frequency distribution and its percentage was basedon the variables indicated in the research. This research shows that the statistics of suicide in Gilan-e-Gharb had extremely been increased between 1379 and 1384. It means that in 1379 the scale of suicide were 52 persons out of 100000 but this range was enhanced about 100 persons out of 100000 in 1384. However, selfburning is now reducing. It means the scale of 20 persons out of 100000 has reached 6/8 persons out of 100000.

Deliberate self- burning is very common in some Middle Eastern, Asian and African cultures. About 1.39 to 40 percent of committing suicides had been reported to be self- immolation in different parts of Iran. In a prospective descriptive study, all cases had attempted suicide by burning who referred to the burn center of Mazandaran province have been evaluated to find out psychiatric and physical disorders and medications tionsused.Three hundred and eighteen cases had been identified in three years (264 women and 54 men) and in 74.6% of females and 72.2% of males death resulted. Thirty percent of the cases had important physical disorders that the majority of them were chronic, and 39.1% of the cases were using medications that most of which were psychotropic (27%). About ninety five percent of the cases had one or more psychiatric disorders, the most common of them were: adjustment disorders, nicotine dependence, major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder and anxiety disorders. Psychoses had been noticed in only 9.6% of all. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders were most common in comparison to western studies, but depression and specially psychoses and other drugs abuse and dependence were less common in both cases of suicide and parasuicide through deliberate self- burning .Regarding the high prevalence of adjustment disorders (42% of parasuicidal cases and 39.8% of suicides), it is necessary to pay special attention to environmental precipitating factors; and it is suggested that the diagnostic category of "adjustment disorder with suicidal ideas" should be pointed out again.  

Background: Self - burning is known as an extremely violent means of suicide.Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the epidemiology of self - burning in Iranian townships covered by Shiraz University of Medical Sciences during years 2009 to 2012.Patients and Methods: This cross - sectional research was performed on 250 self - burning cases and 181 self - burning attempts. Data was collected from the Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Program Checklist. To analyze the data, the chi - square test and logistic regression model were utilized.Results: Most self - burning cases were observed in females (70.4%), married individuals (60.4%), an age group of 15 to 24 years (38%), and rural residents (60.8%). Moreover, the highest and lowest self - burning cases had occurred during spring (31.2%) and fall (17.6%) (P = 0.736).Conclusions: The findings are indicative of a high occurrence of self - burning among young married females. Therefore, it is vital to provide this at risk group with the necessary prevention programs.

Kherqeh-pushi (wearing the clock) is a customary ritual in Sufism. This ritual is usually accompanied with kherqeh-andakhtan (dedicating the clock) or takhriqe-kherqeh (tearing the clock) and kherqeh-az-sar-beh-dar-avrdan or kherqeh-az-sar-bar-kashidan (underssing the clock). Kherqeh-andakhtan (dedicating the clock) used to occur often in the state of ecstasy (vajd) and especially Serna. kherqeh-az-sar-beh-dar-avrdan (underssing the clock), besides that happens when two Sufis wish to do away with misunderstandings. Similarly, Kherqeh-az-sar-bar-kashidan (underssing the clock) was a way of punishing the culprit Sufi in Khangah. It seems that there is a connection between kherqeh-pushi (wearing the clock) and kherqeh-suzi (burning the clock), even though there was no citable and valid evidence about it in Sufi texts. Kherqeh-suzi (burning the clock) has a widespread use in mystical poems, as in the poems of Attar Neishapouri, Saadi, Mulavi, Qasem Anvar, Fakhredin Araqi and especially Hafez. By considering Kherqeh-pushi, the present article, tries to analyze the concept of kherqeh-suzi (burning the clock) in mystical texts, especially in the works of Attar and Hafez.