Citation

Berman L. Psychiatr. Danub. 2006; 18(Suppl 1): 53.

Affiliation

American Association of Suicidology, 5221 Wisconsin Ave., NW, 20015 Washington DC, USA. berman@suicidology.org.

Copyright

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

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16963935

Abstract

A suicide warning sign is the earliest possible detectable sign indicating heightened risk for suicide or suicidal behavior in the near term and needs to be differentiated from the broader construct of risk factors. Warning signs for suicide, disseminated to both professionals and the lay public via print and broadcast media and websites, however, have failed to make this discrimination. Moreover, they have lacked both empirical support and widespread consensus. This presentation outlines the process and results of a clinician-expert consensus conference to distinguish between suicide risk factors and warning signs, delineate empirically supported acute risk factors, and derive consequent public health and professional training messages. Follow-up research to test potential iatrogenic effects and ease of recall of these derived signs will also be presented.

Language: en