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Suicide and parasuicide - a comparison

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

 

Associations (not definitive factors) with Respect to the Presentation of Suicide and Parasuicide

Parasuicide

Suicide

Trend

now stationary

increasing in males

Sex

females > males

males > females

Age

below 45

above 45

marital status:

divorced, single

div, single & widowed

social class:

class V

no clear gradient

urban/rural:

urban > rural

rural/urban

rural/urban

unemployed

unemployed and retired

seasonal variation:

none

spring peak

broken home

common

common

physical illness

no association

associaton

psychiatric diagnosis

situational, reaction, depression, alcoholism

affective disorder

personality type:

psycopathy common

none special

suicide attempt vs. parasuicide/non suicidal self injury (NSSI) (1)

suicide attempt

non suicidal self injury (parasuicide)

the person intends to die

no suicidal intent

maybe impulsive, but in majority of people, chronic feeling of hopelessness and loneliness is present

usually the person experience increasing anger, tension, anxiety, dysphoria and general distress or depersonalisation

typically patients express more severe and life threatening methods of self harm e.g. – self poisoning, hanging, jumping, use of firearms

less severe methods of self harm is used e.g. – skin lesions by biting, cutting, burning etc

increased risk of repeated suicide attempts (but to a lesser frequency than NSSI)

recurrent self injury is common

 

typically the person is aware that his/her behaviour may result in serious injury, but is not life threatening

Reference:

 


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