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Diagnoses, Psychosocial Stressors and Adaptive Functioning in Attempted Suicide

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Annals of Clinical Psychiatry

Abstract

A systematic sample of 78 suicide attempters (37 men and 41 women), of whom 83% were hospitalized, were interviewed according to SCID I and II and Axes III-V according to DSM-III-R. Mood disorders were most common (56%). Forty-four suicide attempters (56%) suffered from comorbid diagnoses on Axis I-II. Borderline personality disorder was more common among women then men (56% vs. 24%, respectively, p = 0.01). Axis III disorders were confirmed for 45%. Sixty-two percent of the suicide attempters had severe psychosocial stressors (Axis IV). When comparing subjects with only Axis I disorders to those with Axis I and II disorders, no difference with respect to psychosocial stressor grade was observed. Moreover, those with only Axis I disorders were not impaired in their adaptive functioning (Axis V) even if severe psychosocial stressors were present. In contrast, an association (p = 0.02) was found between high stress and low functioning in patients with both Axis I and Axis II disorders. The data suggest that in clinical practice, beside evaluation of Axis I and Axis II disorders, also stressors and global functioning should be included in the assessment of suicide risk after attempted suicide.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health Sciences, Swedish National and Stockholm County Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, National Institute for Psychosocial Factors and Health, Karolinska Institutet, Box 230, S-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden

    Maj-Liz I.I. Persson, Bo S. Runeson & Danuta Wasserman

  2. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Occupational Therapy and Elderly Care Research, Division of Psychiatry, Karolinska Institutet, S-141 86, Stockholm, Sweden

    Maj-Liz I.I. Persson

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  1. Maj-Liz I.I. Persson
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  2. Bo S. Runeson
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  3. Danuta Wasserman
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Persson, ML.I., Runeson, B.S. & Wasserman, D. Diagnoses, Psychosocial Stressors and Adaptive Functioning in Attempted Suicide. Ann Clin Psychiatry 11, 119–128 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022303809611

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