ABSTRACT
Background : Suicide is a complex, multidimensional phenomenon. Attempted suicide has a bearing on future attempts/completion, a correlation with psychosocial factors and psychiatric disorders and these factors have an effect on suicide prevention. Aim : To compare people who attempt suicide and controls in regard to psychosocial aspects and psychiatric morbidity and to find out the factors leading to attempted suicide. Methods : Consecutive 40 cases of attempted suicide and 40 controls of either sex between 16-35 years of age studied till tenth standard referred to the department of Psychiatry from various super speciality departments in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital were recruited in the study over a period of 18 months after ensuring their medical stability and after obtaining their consent. The subjects were assessed using semistructured proforma covering socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of patient and his/her illness and by using the following tools : Cattelle’s 16 personality factors test(16 PF), Frustration test, Family relationship inventory, Presumptive Stressful life event scale, Beck’s depression inventory, Beck’s suicidal intent scale, Smith’s lethality of suicide attempt scale, MINI-plus and Kuppuswamy’s Socio-economic Status Scale. Results : The study showed female preponderance amongst attempters and 67.5% came from a nuclear family background (p=0.000). 25% of the suicide attempters had made an earlier past suicide attempt and 15% had a family history of attempted or completed suicide (p=0.011). Benzodiazepine overdose was the most common method (37.5%) of attempting suicide followed by organophosphorus poisoning (30%).For attempters, mean scores for frustration, and acceptance and concentration variables on family relationship inventory were statistically significant (p=0.000).Psychiatric disorders were present in 65% of the attempted suicide cases and results were statistically significant for undesirable life events in the past and lifetime in attempters.Conclusions : The present study revealed that lack of family cohesion and relationship/marital problems with more undesirable life events in the past and lifetime are important factors for attempted suicide. High levels of frustration, low family acceptance and high family concentration are predictors of attempting suicide later.