A psychological and social perspective on completed suicides in Western Anatolia, Turkey: A case-control psychological autopsy study

Objective: Aim of this study was an evaluation of the completed suicide rate as well as exploring what associated psychological and social factors might have increased the risk of death from suicide.

Method: The study examines all adult suicide cases in the Province of Denizli that occurred between January 2009 and December 2010. In addition to examining the judicial files, interviews were conducted with the suicide victims’ relatives to elaborate the cases and evaluate the risk factors for suicide. For 19 of 53 suicide victims (35.9%), no interviews were conducted; telephone interviews were carried out with relatives of 27 of the victims (50.9%), and face-to-face interviews were held with relatives of 7 of the subjects (13.2%). Healthy controls were randomly chosen from the registers of 14 Denizli primary healthcare centers. The 31 control individuals were from a similar geographic area and social backgrounds as the case group.

Results: Of the cases, 13.2% (n=7) were female, while 86.8% (n=46) were male. The mean age was 41.57±15.33 years. The total mean age of the control group was 42.84±16.98 years (p=0.725). The results of this study showed that a history of psychiatric disorder, prior suicide attempts, a history of alcohol abuse, stressful life events, and lack of social support/interaction were associated with suicide.

Conclusion: Clinical and psychosocial factors such as a history of psychiatric disorder, unemployment, and financial or relationship problems increase the risk of suicide.