Citation

Scoliers G, Portzky G, Audenaert K, van Heeringen CK. Psychiatr. Danub. 2006; 18(Suppl 1): 149.

Affiliation

Unit for Suicide Research, De Pintelaan 185, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. Gerrit.Scoliers@UGent.be.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Facultas Universitatis Studiorum Zagrabiensis - Danube Symposion of Psychiatry)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16964156

Abstract

Repetition of attempted suicide increases the risk of subsequent fatal or non-fatal suicidal behaviour. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the time interval between repeated attempts shortens as the rate of repetition increases. A total of 1017 suicide attempters were referred to the Accident and Emergency department of the University Hospital Ghent between 1990 and 1993. These patients were contacted 5 years later and asked to participate; 359 (35.3%) agreed and were interviewed at their homes. A first subsequent suicide attempt occurred on average 18.1 months after the index attempt. The second subsequent attempt occurred after a shorter interval, i.e. 8.4 months. In case of third, fourth or fifth repeated attempts these occurred after an average interval of 6.5, 4.9 and 4.3 months, respectively. Patients with a history of suicide attempts prior to the index attempt were more likely to carry out a subsequent attempt within the first year after hospital admission. These results show that each suicide attempt increases the risk of a subsequent attempt in a cumulative way. Further research is needed to demonstrate whether this reflects an increase in the vulnerability to suicidal behaviour through the accumulation of biological and/or psychological scars.

Language: en