A cross-national study on gender differences in suicide intent

BMC Psychiatry

Research Article

Aislinné Freeman¹  Elisabeth Kohls¹  Roland Mergl²  Christine Rummel-Kluge²  Nicole Koburger²  Ulrich Hegerl²  Ella Arensman³  Ricardo Gusmao⁴  András Székely⁵ 

[1] Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie der Universität Leipzig, Semmelweisstraße 10, Haus 13, 04103, Leipzig, Germany;Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie der Universität Leipzig, Semmelweisstraße 10, Haus 13, 04103, Leipzig, Germany;Forschungszentrum Depression der Stiftung Deutsche Depressionshilfe, Leipzig, Germany;National Suicide Research Foundation & Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland;New University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal;Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary;

关键词: Suicide;    Attempt;    Intent;    Gender differences;    Suicidal behaviour;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12888-017-1398-8

 received in 2017-03-08, accepted in 2017-06-22,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundSuicide accounts for over 58,000 deaths in Europe per annum, where suicide attempts are estimated to be 20 times higher. Males have been found to have a disproportionately lower rate of suicide attempts and an excessively higher rate of suicides compared to females. The gender difference in suicide intent is postulated to contribute towards this gender imbalance. The aim of this study is to explore gender differences in suicide intent in a cross-national study of suicide attempts. The secondary aims are to investigate the gender differences in suicide attempt across age and country.MethodsData on suicide attempts (acquired from the EU-funded OSPI-Europe project) was obtained from eight regions in Germany, Hungary, Ireland and Portugal. Suicide intent data was categorized into ‘Non-habitual Deliberate Self-Harm’ (DSH), ‘Parasuicidal Pause’ (SP), ‘Parasuicidal Gesture’ (SG), and ‘Serious Suicide Attempt’ (SSA), applying the Feuerlein scale. Gender differences in intent were explored for significance by using χ2-tests, odds ratios, and regression analyses.ResultsSuicide intent data from 5212 participants was included in the analysis. A significant association between suicide intent and gender was found, where ‘Serious Suicide Attempts’ (SSA) were rated significantly more frequently in males than females (p < .001). There was a statistically significant gender difference in intent and age groups (p < .001) and between countries (p < .001). Furthermore, within the most utilised method, intentional drug overdose, ‘Serious Suicide Attempt’ (SSA) was rated significantly more often for males than females (p < .005).ConclusionsConsidering the differences in suicidal intent between males and females highlighted by the current study, gender targeted prevention and intervention strategies would be recommended.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017