Effect of a Suicide Prevention Centre for Young People With Suicidal Behaviour in Copenhagen

In 1992, a suicide prevention centre was opened in Copenhagen with a 2-week programme of social & psychological treatment. This study evaluated the effect of the centre. In a quasi-experimental study, 362 patients in the centre & a parallel comparison group of 39 patients were interviewed. All patients were invited to follow-up interviews. At the 1-year follow-up, 59% of patients in the intervention group & 53% of patients in the comparison group were re-interviewed. The intervention group showed significantly greater improvement on a variety of scales & a significantly lower repetition rate. It is suggested the improvement in the intervention group was facilitated by the treatment. (25 refs.)