Citation

Saraiva C, Santos Z, Veiga F, Domingues V, Cabral A. Psychiatr. Danub. 2006; 18(Suppl 1): 37.

Affiliation

Suicide Research and Prevention Unit, Clinica Psiquiatrica - Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra, 3000 Coimbra, Portugal. cbsaraiva@ci.uc.pt.

Copyright

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

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16963897

Abstract

Objectives: From a 15-year clinical experience involving 900 suicide attempters, our aim was to study the associations between guilt/self-aggressiveness and several sociodemographic and clinical variables. Methods: We used a semi-structured questionnaire designed by our unit, with 77 items covering all those aspects. Two groups were compared: group 1 (30%) and group 0 (70%) - positive and negative for guilt/self-aggressiveness, respectively. Results: Regarding sociodemographic variables, within group 1 we found higher proportions of male, divorced, urban, middle-upper social class and advanced schooling individuals. Concerning clinical variables, the following findings were more frequent within group 1: history of physical or sexual abuse, absence of a confidant or group activities, alcohol abuse, mood and personality disorders, professional problems, bereavement, previous suicide attempts, cutting vs. psychotropics as a method, intensive care need, suicide note, suicide plan and high suicidal intent; and less frequent: impulsivity, precipitant quarrel and satisfaction for surviving. Conclusions: Though references to this topic are rare in Suicidology, we found in our sample a subgroup of attempters justifying particular attention for the risk of completed suicide. Their mental construct of self-annihilation seems to involve complex mechanisms such as guilt and self-aggressiveness operating on vulnerabilities of childhood and adolescence development, personality construction and clinical context.

Language: en