Profile of “Suspected Suicide Attempters” based on variations in intent

Abstract

Background: Suicide and attempted suicide are on a rise in India. Suicide attempt is an area which is well researched. However, there is a dearth of studies that focus on any other/absence of suicidal intent in “suspected suicidal attempters” (SSA). The present study aimed at identifying the presence or absence of intent in SSA to gain insight into the preventive methods. Methods: This study was based on cross-sectional baseline data of an ongoing prospective study of suicide attempters undertaken in General Hospital Psychiatry Unit. Convenient sampling was done; data were collected using semi-structured pro forma. Consenting medically stable SSA referred for psychiatric evaluation were included, and grouped based on variations in intent. Using SPSS software version 20.0, descriptive and inferential statistics were done. Results: Two hundred and forty-two participants were included in the study. Majority of participants (73.55%) with suicide intent were impulsive and 15.29% were planned. About 11.16% of participants had no intent (accidental incidents). Participants in accidental group were significantly older and more often diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (AUD) than the other two groups. Significantly, more number of agriculturists attempted impulsively/accidentally. Planned attempters significantly had less social support, higher suicide intent, and were more depressed. Conclusions: A tetrad of rural background, agriculturist, poisoning with pesticides, and AUD was seen in accidental and impulsive attempters, a noteworthy finding requiring imposing restrictions on the availability of alcohol and pesticides to prevent such occurrences. Accidental incidents as a group need further research and classification for its clinical and legal impact.

Keywords

• accidental
• impulsive
• no intent
• planned
• suicide attempt
• suicide intent