Differentiating Suicidal Motivations and Manifestations in a Forensic Sample

This research investigated the associations among suicide criteria & empirically relevant, psychological variables, & their relative statistical importance. For a sample of 235 male prison inmate volunteers, 3 key findings emerged: 1) internal perterbation-based reasons for attempting suicide statistically predicted each suicide criterion; 2) these reasons often outperformed hopelessness in predicting suicide criteria; 3) associations between suicide criteria & psychological variables were multidimensional. Implications are discussed. (48 refs)