Attempted Suicide in Europe: Rates, Trends and Sociodemographic Characteristics of Suicide Attempters During the Period 1989-1992. Results of the WHO/EURO Multicentre Study on Parasuicide

Sixteen centres in 13 European countries are participating in the World Health Organization/EURO Multicentre Project on Parasuicide in which trends in the epidemiology of suicide attempts are assessed. The highest average male age-standardized rate of suicide attempts was found in Helsinki & in Cergy-Pontoise, France for females. For the majority of centres, the rates for individuals age 15+ decreased between 1989-1992. More than 50% of the suicide attempters made more than one attempt, & nearly 20% of the second attempts were made within 12 months after the first attempt. Compared with the general population, suicide attempters more often belong to the social categories associatd with social destabilization & poverty. (21 refs.)