High lethality suicide attempts among chronic schizophrenia patients

Objective: The aims of this study were to assess the personal and clinical features of a sample of patients with schizophrenia who had made highly lethal suicide attempts. Method: Participants were 39 inpatients with schizophrenia, 18 of whom had made a high lethality suicide attempt in the six month period before assessment, while the others had not engaged in any suicidal behavior. Diagnoses and suicidal intent were evaluated using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Sociodemographic and clinical variables were assessed using a clinical interview based on the Schizophrenia Suicide Risk Scale. Participants were also administered the Beck Hopelessness Scale. Results: Multivariate analyses explained 61% of the variance of the dependent variable (suicide versus nonsuicidal group). Patients with a history of a highly lethal suicide attempt were 24 times less likely to report loss of skills in demanding jobs and were 21 times more likely to report strong feelings of fear in the last 2 weeks than patients without a history of suicide attempts. Conclusions: The implementation of protocols aimed at monitoring suicide risk is of utmost importance. © 2009 Giovanni Fioriti Editore s.r.l.