Factores de riesgo psicopatológico en la tentativa suicida

Abstract

The suicide attempt and certain psychopathological variables constitute an individual, family, and social health problem which has been on the rise in the last few years. In this study, the suicide attempt and certain associated psychopathological risk factors are described in patients admitted to the reference hospital of Area 6 in the province of Madrid. Methods. It is a descriptive study of a sample of 67 patients admitted to the Psychiatry Department for one year for attempted suicide. Suicide attempt was defined as the behaviour of an individual with deliberate threatening to end life, but not in order to lead to death. A classification analysis was made with 134 controls to assign patients to groups according to variables. Results. Suicide attempt risk was associated with factors which generate psychological or psychopathological conflict in the individual: moderate or severe level of depression, and raised anxiety and impulsivity levels. Classification allows three suicide attempt risk levels to be identified: high, medium and low. Conclusions. Results confirm the relevance of the suicide attempt problem in our population and point out several associated factors, such as a negative mood, a severe state of anxiety, and high impulsivity which should be analyzed in detail in analytic studies to design and implement appropriate preventive programs.