Decoding suicide decedent profiles and signs of suicidal intent using latent class analysis

Importance Suicide rates in the US increased by 35.6% from 2001 to 2021. Given that most individuals die on their first attempt, earlier detection and intervention are crucial. Understanding modifiable risk factors is key to effective prevention strategies. Objective To identify distinct suicide profiles or classes, associated signs of suicidal intent, and patterns of modifiable […]

“I didn’t do it!”: Lived experiences of suicide attempts made without perceived intent or volition

Suicide is considered to be a conscious and intentional act that is carried out within a social and cultural context. This study examines the unique phenomenon of a cluster of suicide attempts conducted without perceived intent, ideation, plan, volition, or agency in a remote province in Central Asia. This study investigated the lived experiences of […]

Specificity, frequency, and intent: Multiple characteristics of adolescents’ suicide plan correlate with their history of suicidal behavior

Background Suicide plans (SP) can be a common precipitant to suicidal behavior (SB) during adolescence, and SPs can vary in how specific they are, how frequently they are thought about, and how strongly they are intended to be enacted. To date, we have limited understanding of how discrete SP characteristics (i.e., specificity, frequency, and intent […]

Clinical and socio-demographic correlates of suicidal intent among young adults: a study from South India

Background: Intent in attempted suicide is considered an indicator of subsequent suicide. Few studies in developing countries have examined correlates of suicidal intent among young adults. Aims: This study aimed to assess the intent score among a sample of young suicide attempters from South India and to identify the factors associated with suicide intent among them. Method: The […]

Surveillance of hospital-presenting intentional self-harm in Western Sydney, Australia, during the implementation of a new self-harm reporting field

Background: Hospital-presenting self-harm is a strong predictor of suicide and has substantial human and health service costs. Aims: We aimed to identify changes in case ascertainment after implementation of a new self-harm reporting field at a tertiary hospital in New South Wales, and to report event rates, demographic, and clinical characteristics. Method: Self-harm events presenting to the emergency department (October […]

An empirical investigation of the distinction between passive and active ideation: Understanding the latent structure of suicidal thought content

Introduction Although the distinction between passive and active suicidal ideation is well accepted by suicide researchers and clinicians, there has been very little empirical investigation into this distinction. The current study addressed this gap by examining the latent structure of suicidal ideation based on thought content. Method Participants from two distinct samples of U.S. adults […]

The classification of suicide gestures: Examining the validity, measurement, and level of intent of a controversial construct

Introduction The inclusion of suicide gestures in modern nomenclatures for self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITB) is contentious due to their history of pejorative connotations and inconsistent operationalization and measurement. Here we sought to investigate the extent to which participants who endorse this behavior on a standardized SITB measure: (1) describe their behavior in a way […]

Prevalence and correlates of 30-day suicidal ideation and intent: Results of the South African National Student Mental Health Survey

Background. Although suicide prevention is recognised as a priority among university students in South Africa (SA), it is unclear what proportion of students require urgent indicated interventions and what the characteristics are of these students. Objective. To assess the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of 30-day suicidal ideation, frequency of ideation and self-reported intention to act on ideation […]

Social group identification as a predictor of pretreatment suicidal ideation and intent in those receiving cCBT: Evidence from a Scottish primary are sample

Suicidal ideation and intent are strongly linked with suicidal attempts and completions; however, no study to date has explored the predictors of ideation and intent within a sample receiving computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (cCBT) as an intervention for mild to moderate depression. The current study investigates the impact of social group identification and socioeconomic deprivation, […]

Suicide by opioid: Exploring the intentionality of the act

Opioid toxicity can result in life-threatening respiratory depression. Opioid-overdose mortality in the United States is high and increasing, but it is difficult to determine what proportion of those deaths might actually be suicides. The exact number of Americans who died of an opioid overdose but whose deaths might be classified as suicide remains unknown. It is important […]

Interpersonal precipitants are associated with suicide intent communication among United States Air Force suicide decedents

Background Few studies explore differences between suicide intent communicators and noncommunicators, and to date, none have examined the association between suicide precipitants and intent communication. Methods United States Air Force suicide decedents (N = 236) were categorized as suicide intent communicators or non-communicators within 30 days prior to death. The top two frequently occurring suicide precipitants, categorized […]

Suicide and self-harm related internet use: A cross-sectional study and clinician focus groups

Background: The rise in Internet use adds a new dimension to suicide prevention. We investigated suicide/self-harm (S/Sh)-related Internet use among patients presenting to hospital with self-harm. Method: We asked 1,198 adult and 315 child and adolescent patients presenting to hospital following self-harm in a city in South West England about Internet use associated with their hospital presentation. Associations […]

Perceived stress and intent to die in young soldiers who attempt suicide

Background: Intent to die is an important component of suicide risk assessment. The authors compared the predictive effect of two forms of stress – military and perceived – in intent to die by suicide among young adult Israeli soldiers with a history of suicide attempts. Depression, suicide ideation, and habituation/acquired capacity for suicidality served as covariates. […]

Older suicide decedents: Intent disclosure, mental and physical health, and suicide means.

This study examined: (1) associations of suicide intent disclosure with depressed mood and health problems; (2) age-group differences in those associations; and (3) relationship between disclosure and suicide means among suicide decedents aged ≥50 years (N=46,857). The overall disclosure rate was 23.4%. Logistic regression results showed that both depressed mood (AOR=1.57, 95% CI=1.50, 1.65, p<0.001) and […]

Examining intent to die and methods for nonsuicidal self-injury and suicide attempts.

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is linked to suicidal behavior and future suicide attempts, but the process of NSSI-to-suicide attempts remains unclear. Additionally, little is known about how having a history of NSSI may relate to reports of intent to die during a suicide attempt. The current study examined methods of NSSI and suicide attempts, as well […]

Serious suicide attempts: Toward an integration of terms and definitions.

Suicidal behavior comprises a diverse set of behaviors with significant differences among several behavioral categories. One noteworthy category includes individuals who have made serious suicide attempts, epidemiologically very similar to those completing suicide. This behavioral category is important, since interviewing survivors of a potentially lethal incident of self-harm enables a detailed investigation of the psychological […]

Thinking about dying and trying and intending to die: Results on suicidal behavior from a large web-based sample.

Suicide is an important worldwide public health problem. The aim of this study was to characterize risk factors of suicidal behavior using a large Web-based sample. This large Web survey confirmed results from previous studies on suicidal behavior and pointed out the relevance of the number of previous suicide attempts and of a positive family […]

Suicidal intent among young suicides in rural China.

To understand psychometric characteristics of Beck Suicide Intent Scale (SIS) and different characteristics of suicides between high and low intent in Chinese culture. Data of 386 suicides and 416 living controls aged 15-34 years were used to analyze psychometric characteristics of SIS with 6 items. SIS with 6 items had high reliability and validity. Different […]

Suicide and Unintentional Poisoning Mortality Trends in the United States, 1987-2006: two Unrelated Phenomena?

The authors compared suicide & poisoning mortality trends over 2 decades in a preliminary assessment of their independence & implications for suicide misclassification. Subjects were 936,633 Americans who died between 1987-2006 & whose underlying cause of death was classified as suicide, unintentional poisoning, or injury mortality of undetermined intent. In contrast to small rate changes […]

Traumatic Life Events and Suicide Risk Among Jail Inmates: the Influence of Types of Events, Time Period and Significant Others

Relationships between traumatic life events & suicide risk were studied in 2 samples of jail inmates, 216 with low suicide risk & 51 with high suicide risk. Suicidal inmates reported a higher prevalence of traumatic life events, including more episodes of sexual abuse, physical maltreatment, emotional maltreatment, abandonment, & suicide attempts by significant others. They […]

Unimaginable Loss: Contingent Suicidal Ideation in Family Members of Oncology Patients

Family members of patients with cancer may reveal to the medical team that they are considering suicide after their loved one dies. No literature is available indicating how to assess risk & to intervene with these individuals. The authors describe various warning signs & seek to improve awareness & approaches to suicide prevention. 5 cases […]

Race/Ethnicity and Potential Suicide Misclassification: Window on a Minority Suicide Paradox?

This cross-sectional study uses multiple cause-of-death data from the American National Center for Health Statistics to assess whether race/ethnicity, psychiatric comorbidity documentation, & other decedent characteristics were associated with differential potential for suicide misclassification. Subjects were 105,946 white, black, & Hispanic residents, age 15 & older, who died between 2003-2005 & whose deaths were classified […]

Suicide Attempts and Impulsivity

A 1-year study of 278 suicide attempts in a general hospital tested the continuous verus dichotomous relationship between attempter impulsivity & attempt impulsivity. Attempter impulsivity was not a good predictor of attempt impulsivity independently of how both dimensions were measured (continuous or dichotomous ways). Impulsive attempts were associated with low lethality & lack of depression. […]