A suicide attempt is an act in which an individual tries to Suicide but survives.
Epidemiology
In the
/ref> The American Association of Suicidology reports higher numbers, stating that there are 25 suicide attempts for every suicide completion.
[USA suicide 2006 Official final data: JL McIntosh for the American Association of Suicidology 2009. Many figures there taken from Reducing suicide: a national imperative, Goldsmith SK, Pellmar TC, Kleinman AM, Bunney WE, editors.] The ratio of suicide attempts to suicide death is about 25:1 in youths, compared to about 4:1 in elderly.
A 2008 review found that
Self-harm is more common in women,
and a separate study from 2008/2009 found suicidal thoughts higher among females, as well as significant differences between genders for suicide planning and suicide attempts.
Suicide attempts are more common among adolescents in developing countries than developed ones. A 12-month prevalence of suicide attempt in developing countries between 2003 and 2015 was reported as 17%.
Parasuicide and self-injury
Without commonly agreed-upon operational definitions, some
suicidology researchers regard many suicide attempts as parasuicide (para- meaning near)
or
self harm behavior, rather than "true" suicide attempts, if they were performed without the intention to die.
Methods
Some suicide methods have higher rates of
lethality than others. The use of
results in death 90% of the time.
Wrist-slashing has a much lower lethality rate, comparatively, since for every suicide by wrist cutting, there are many more nonfatal attempts, so that the number of actual deaths using this method is very low.
75% of all suicide attempts are by
drug overdose,
a method that is often thwarted because the drug is nonlethal, or is used at a nonlethal dosage. These people survive 97% of the time.
Repetition
A nonfatal suicide attempt is the strongest known clinical predictor of eventual suicide.
[Harris EC, Barraclough B: Suicide as an outcome for mental disorders: a meta-analysis. Br J Psychiatry 1997; 170:205–228] Suicide risk among self-harm patients is hundreds of times higher than in the general population.
[Owens D, Horrocks J, House A: Fatal and non-fatal repetition of self-harm: systematic review. Br J Psychiatry 2002; 181:193–199] However, it is estimated that only about 10–15% of suicide attempt survivors eventually die by suicide.
[Suominen et al. (2004). Completed Suicide After a Suicide Attempt: A 37-Year Follow-Up Study. Am J Psychiatry, 161, 563–564.] The mortality risk is highest during the first months and years after the attempt: almost 1% of individuals who attempt suicide will die by suicide if the attempt is repeated within one year.
[Hawton K, Catalan J. Attempted suicide: a practical guide to its nature and management, 2nd ed. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1987.] Recent meta-analytic evidence suggests that the association between suicide attempt and suicidal death may not be as strong as it was thought before.
Outcomes
Suicide attempts can result in serious and permanent injuries and/or disabilities. At least 700,000 Americans survive a suicide attempt each year. People who attempt either hanging or carbon monoxide poisoning and survive can face permanent brain damage due to
cerebral anoxia. People who take a drug overdose and survive can face severe organ damage (e.g.,
liver failure). Individuals who jump from a height and survive may face irreversible damage to multiple organs, as well as the spine and brain.
While a majority sustain injuries that allow them to be released following emergency room treatment, a significant minority—about 116,000—are hospitalized, of whom 110,000 are eventually discharged alive. Their average hospital stay is 79 days. Some 89,000, 17% of these people, are permanently disabled.
Criminalization of attempted suicide
Historically in the Christian church, people who attempted suicide were
excommunication because of the religiously polarizing nature of the topic.
[ While previously criminally punishable, attempted suicide is no longer illegal in most Western countries. It remains a criminal offense in most Islamic countries.]
In India, attempted suicide was decriminalized by the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017,[Singapore Penal Code(Cap 224, Rev Ed 2008), s 309]
Many other countries still prosecute suicide attempts.
Despite having its own laws, Maryland still reserves the right to prosecute people under the English that were in place when the United Colonies declared independence in 1776. These laws were used to convict a man for attempted suicide in 2018, resulting in a three-year suspended sentence and two years of supervised probation.
See also
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International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day
-
Mental health first aid
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Suicidal ideation
-
Suicide crisis
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World Suicide Prevention Day
