Estimating Suicide Risk Among Attempted Suicides: The Development of New Clinical Scales

A discriminant function analysis was carried out to separate a sample of 75 suicides from a sample of 146 attempted suicides on which comprehensive clinical and social data were recorded on an identical schedule. Two sets of discriminating items (with 18 and 6 variables) correctly classified 92% and 83% of the two samples in their respective groups. The results provide a basis for examining the usefulness of these variables as predictors of future suicide in people who have attempted suicide.