Qualitative content of auditory hallucinations and suicidal behavior in schizophrenia.

Whereas depressed mood, hopelessness, and previous suicide attempts have been well established as risk factors for suicidal behavior in schizophrenia (Siris, 2001), the role of psychotic symptoms and their quality has remainedmore controversial (Hawton et al., 2005; Hor and Taylor, 2010). Existing studies have focused on quantitative aspects of psychotic symptoms, to the exclusion of qualitative features. We question whether such a focus fosters premature conclusions regarding factors associated with suicidality in this patient group, and offer the distinction between pleasant versus unpleasant auditory hallucinations as a qualitative case in point.