Clinical characteristics, precipitating stressors, and correlates of lethality among suicide attempters.

BACKGROUND Given that suicide attempt is a major risk factor for suicide completion, this study investigated the clinical features, precipitating stressors, and the correlates of lethality in suicide attempters. METHODS The sample comprised 357 people who had attempted suicide and had been sent to the emergency room in a general hospital from November 2002 to June 2005. Data collection was conducted by a consultant psychiatrist and social worker through interview. RESULTS The proportion of females was much higher than that of males. Suicide attempts peaked at 20 to 29 years old in females, and 30 to 39 years old in males. The females reported significantly more family relationship problems than the males, while the males more commonly reported unemployment or economic problems. The most prevalent psychiatric diagnosis was affective disorders. The females had a higher rate of self-poisoning by medication than the males, while the males had a higher rate of self-poisoning by non-medicinal chemicals than the females. Those with high-lethality attempts were older than those with medium- and low-lethality attempts, and more were males. CONCLUSION While females and young adults had higher rates of suicide attempts, males and the elderly were considered at higher risk for suicide completion.