Resource Tag: ITALY

This study assessed the personal & clinical features of a sample of patients with schizophrenia who had made highly lethal suicide attempts. 18 of 39 subjects had made a high lethality suicide attempt in the 6-month period before assessment while the others had not engaged in any suicidal behaviour. Diagnoses & suicidal intent were evaluated […]

Evidence of the frequent use of mainline & metropolitan trains as a means of suicide in & around Milan prompted the authors to analyse the occurrence of these events between 1993-2008. Data from the Institute of Legal Medicine were examined. The 155 selected cases were analysed for various aspects, including the chronology & dynamics of […]

Data on suicides, attempted suicides, & other self-harming behaviours in Italian prisons from 1990-2002 were studied. Over the study period, suicide rates in Italian prisons were constantly about 10 times higher than among the general population, but over time they did not increase significantly despite nearly a doubling in the absolute number of inmates. The […]

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This study updated age & sex suicide rates in Italy, evaluated the methods of suicide; considered the effect of underreporting on suicide rates; compared age-adjusted rates of suicide; & examined some possible causes for the misclassification of suicide. Temporal trends, from 1980-2002, were analyzed using joinpoint regression. Suicide rates decreased by 10.5 percent for men […]

The authors evaluated the perceived quality of life & its association with suicide risk in 100 Italian patients with diabetes mellitus. Patients with diabetes showed greater hopelessness & suicide ideation than internal medicine patients. Poor quality of life was related to low self-efficacy, high hopelessness, & suicidality. A stepwise multiple regression found that polytherapy & […]

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This study analyzed the last year of the published diary of the Italian writer, Cesare Pavese (1908-1950) to identify changes in the content. The diary was analyzed using the Linguistic Word Count program. The proportion of words related to positive emotions & optimism increased & the entries became less complex & more self-oriented. The results […]

The authors investigated correlations of burnout & defense mechanisms with hopelessness in a sample of 120 Italian nurses working in psychiatric, general medicine/rehabilitation, & critical care/surgery wards. Nurses were administered the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Gleser & Ihilevich’s Defense Mechanisms Inventory, & Beck’s Hopelessness Scale. Results indicated that burnout & some of the defense mechanisms predicted […]

This cross-sectional study evaluated the role of several variables hypothesized in prior research to be associated with suicide in older adults. A psychological autopsy study of 99 elderly suicide victims, age 65 & older, in the province of Parma & Piacenza who died between 1994-2004 was done. 134 younger suicide victims (younger adults, aged less […]

This study examined whether suicides among Italian patients diagnosed with cancer during 1985-1999 had decreased with calendar time in comparison to the rate in the general population. 90,197 patients with cancer resident in Tuscany were followed up for life status to the end of 2000. Time trends were assessed by using Kernel smoothing estimators, standardized […]

This study examined data on symptom patterns in the week prior to admission for suicide attempt in a nationwide representative sample of Italian patients. 230 patients (14.8%) in the sample had been admitted to a private or public psychiatric facility for a suicide attempt. No diagnosis was statistically related to admission after suicide attempt, once […]

This naturalistic study evaluated the potential influence of the duration of untreated illness on the clinical course of bipolar disorder. 320 outpatients with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, Type I or Type II, were interviewed & followed-up for 5 years. Patients with a longer duration of untreated illness showed a higher frequency of suicide attempts, […]

Since Morselli’s 1881 report, suicide rates have changed dramatically in some Italian areas whereas the rates have remained approximately the same in other regions. Italy has a long tradition in the study of suicide & now it is crucial to learn more about assessment & management of suicide risk. The author overviews the drama occurring […]

The authors hypothesize obsessive-compulsive disorder carries a low risk for suicide, that suicide ideation & lifetime attempts in this disorder are due to comorbid major depressive episodes, & that patients with major depressive episodes carry the same suicidal risk as obsessive-compulsive/major depressive episode patients. 58 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder were compared with 58 patients with […]

The authors used national panel data at a provincial level to investigate the relationship between suicide rates & socioeconomic factors in Italy. The role of family, drug & alcohol consumption, social conformism, & population density are the main factors in explaining the suicide rate in Italy. The authors also checked for differences in the suicide […]

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903 male prisoners in Italy had a psychiatric interview which included various psychometric tests. Suicide attempters were compared with prisoners who had never attempted suicide. Significantly more of the attempters had a history of psychiatric disorder, substance abuse, a family history of suicidal behaviour, convictions for violent crime, had exhibited aggressive behaviour in jail, & […]

This study describes sentinel events reported to the Italian Ministry of Welfare in the first 18 months of activity. 123 reports were received, suicide being the most reported event. The analysis of the causes & contributing factors has highlighted the lack of application, & sometimes the total absence of appropriate procedures & guidelines which would […]