The purpose of this study was to compare clinical characteristics of suicide attempters with or without personality disorders. A systematic sample (n=114) of patients from consecutive cases of attempted suicide referred to hospitals in Helsinki were studied. 46 subjects with personality disorders were identified & divided into 3 clusters. These subjects were compared with 65 suicide attempters without personality disorders. Suicide attempters with personality disorders more often had a history of previous suicide attempts & lifetime psychiatric treatment than comparison subjects. However, suicide attempts did not differ in terms of suicide intent, hopelessness, lethality or impulsiveness. (50 refs.)