SynopsisThe characteristics of 64 suicides with a retrospective diagnosis of depression and 128 depressives referred for psychiatric treatment were compared. The following items differentiated the suicide group: male sex, older age in females, single status, living alone, the symptoms of insomnia, impaired memory and self neglect, and a history of suicide attempts. The value of these items in assessing suicide risk in depressive illness is discussed.

A discriminant function analysis was carried out to separate a sample of 75 suicides from a sample of 146 attempted suicides, on which comprehensive clinical and social data were recorded on an identical schedule. Two sets of discriminating items (with 18 and 6 variables) correctly classified 91 per cent and 83 per cent of the two samples in their respective groups. The results provide a basis for examining the usefulness of these variables as predictors of future suicide in people who have attempted suicide.

SynopsisSuicidal intent was assessed in a sample of 151 admissions to a general hospital for selfpoisoning or self-inflicted injury. Severity of intent was associated with the act's medical seriousness and with the risk of suicide derived from a validated risk scale. Although high and low intent cases were comparable in respect of precipitating factors, patients rated high on suicidal intent were more likely to have experienced depressive symptoms in the previous month.

We predicted that the closer the resemblance of attempted suicide to completed suicide, the greater the risk of patients later killing themselves after an unsuccessful attempt. Using two risk scales, one of 6 and the other of 18 socio-demographic and clinical items, weighted according to their value in discriminating between suicides and attempted suicides, and a rating of intent to die during the index suicide attempt, we followed up 1263 attempted suicides for two years. Ten of the twelve suicidal deaths in the first year occurred in patients scoring in the top quartile on the 6-item scale; and among high-risk scorers there was an excess of those defined as 'failed suicides' at the index attempt. The 18-item scale was superior to the shorter one, but both scales were improved by taking into account the rating of intent-to-die. The potential value of these findings is discussed in the light of some inherent problems of predicting suicide in the clinical setting.

124 subjects completed the Eysenck Personality Inventory soon after a suicide attempt. For males there was an association between low intent to die and impulsivity while for both sexes there was an association between recurrent suicide attempts and neuroticism.

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The study sample comprised 575 psychiatric referrals for whom MMPI data were available. Patients were categorized according to suicidal history. The attempted suicide and nonsuicidal patients were differentiated significantly on the D, PD, MF, DY, ES, NE, EX, HO, SD, IP, ANX, and UNC scales. Important differences between the sexes emerged; whereas for men the profiles of the suicidal ideation and nonsuicidal patients were similar, for women those of the suicidal ideation and suicide attempt were similar. Male and female suicide attemptors correspond closely in the pattern and degree of deviation from the nonsuicidal patients of their own sex. The study indicates that patients who have a history of suicide attempts constitute a more psychologically disturbed group and points to a need for further examination of the meaning of suicidal ideation for men and women.

The aim of this cross disciplinary study was to identify the most significant variables related to childhood accidental poisoning. The study was carried out on a representative sample of families living in the Greater Athens Area comprising 1245 children aged up to 5 years. Data were collected by a team of researchers (paediatricians, psychologists and social workers) and involved a structured interview and a paediatric examination. The findings show that childhood poisoning is correlated with: (1) biological variables, such as skeletal anomalies, language disorders, number of recent infections and complications of pregnancy; and (2) social factors, such as father's educational level, monthly family income, and overcrowding. Sex of the child was not found to influence poisoning.