Clinical Predictors of Eventual Suicide: a 5- to 10-Year Prospective Study of Suicide Attempters

In this study, 413 patients hospitalized for suicide attempts were tested on the Beck Depression Inventory, Hopelessness scale, & Suicidal Intent scale (SIS). The patients were followed up from 1970/75 to 1982. Of 10 clinical & demographic characteristics chosen, only a diagnosis of alcoholism predicted eventual suicide. The risk of alcoholics committing suicide was over 5 times greater than that of the non-alcoholics. The SIS Precautions subscale was also found to predict completed suicide.(VM)