Method of suicide in the mentally ill: a national clinical survey

Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2010 Feb;40(1):22-34. doi: 10.1521/suli.2010.40.1.22.

Abstract

Comparisons of psychiatric patients who die by suicide using different methods are scarce. We aimed to establish the methods of suicide used by those who are currently or have recently been in contact with mental health services in England and Wales (N = 6,203), and describe the social and clinical characteristics of suicides by different methods. We found that hanging, self-poisoning, and jumping (from a height or in front of a moving vehicle) were the most common methods of suicide, accounting for 79% of all deaths. The implications of these and other findings are discussed.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Child
  • England / epidemiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mental Disorders / epidemiology*
  • Mental Disorders / therapy
  • Middle Aged
  • Sex Factors
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Suicide*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Wales / epidemiology
  • Young Adult