LAUSR.org creates dashboard-style pages of related content for over 1.5 million academic articles. Sign Up to like articles & get recommendations!

Characteristics of persons who die on their first suicide attempt: results from the National Violent Death Reporting System

Photo by thoughtcatalog from unsplash

Abstract Background Much of suicide research focuses on suicide attempt (SA) survivors. Given that more than half of the suicide decedent population dies on their first attempt, this means a… Click to show full abstract

Abstract Background Much of suicide research focuses on suicide attempt (SA) survivors. Given that more than half of the suicide decedent population dies on their first attempt, this means a significant proportion of the population that dies by suicide is overlooked in research. Little is known about persons who die by suicide on their first attempt–and characterizing this understudied population may improve efforts to identify more individuals at risk for suicide. Methods Data were derived from the National Violent Death Reporting System, from 2005 to 2013. Suicide cases were included if they were 18–89 years old, with a known circumstance leading to their death based on law enforcement and/or medical examiner reports. Decedents with and without a history of SA were compared on demographic, clinical, and suicide characteristics, and circumstances that contributed to their suicide. Results A total of 73 490 cases met criteria, and 57 920 (79%) died on their first SA. First attempt decedents were more likely to be male, married, African-American, and over 64. Demographic-adjusted models showed that first attempt decedents were more likely to use highly lethal methods, less likely to have a known mental health problem or to have disclosed their intent to others, and more likely to die in the context of physical health or criminal/legal problem. Conclusions First attempt suicide decedents are demographically different from decedents with a history of SA, are more likely to use lethal methods and are more likely to die in the context of specific stressful life circumstances.

Keywords: suicide attempt; first attempt; attempt; death; persons die

Journal Title: Psychological Medicine
Year Published: 2019

Link to full text (if available)


Share on Social Media:                               Sign Up to like & get
recommendations!

Related content

More Information              News              Social Media              Video              Recommended



                Click one of the above tabs to view related content.