Is Suicide Predictable?

Abstract

Background: The current study aimed to test the hypothesis: Is suicide predictable? And try to classify the predictive factors in multiple suicide attempts.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was administered to 223 multiple attempters, women who came to a medical poison centre after a suicide attempt. The participants were young, poor, and single. A Logistic Regression Analiysis was used to classify the predictive factors of suicide.
Results: Women who had multiple suicide attempts exhibited a significant tendency to attempt suicide again. They had a history for more than two years of multiple suicide attempts, from three to as many as 18 times, plus mental illnesses such as depression and substance abuse. They also had a positive history of mental illnesses.
Conclusion: Results indicate that contributing factors for another suicide attempt include previous suicide attempts, mental illness (depression), or a positive history of mental illnesses in the family affecting them at a young age, and substance abuse.