Comorbidity of Axis I and Axis II Disorders in Patients Who Attempted Suicide
Abstract
Objective The authors compared the characteristics of suicide attempters with and without comorbid psychiatric and personality disorders to identify factors that explain the high suicide risk associated with psychiatric comorbidity. Method A representative group of 111 patients who had attempted suicide (72 female and 39 male) was assessed for psychiatric and personality disorders according to ICD-10 criteria. The characteristics of patients with both types of disorder were compared with those of patients without comorbid disorders. A semistructured interview schedule and standardized questionnaires were used to investigate patients' background characteristics, the circumstances of the suicide attempts, psychological characteristics, and outcome after 12-20 months. Results Comorbidity of psychiatric and personality disorders was present in 49 patients (44%). More patients with comorbid disorders had made previous suicide attempts (N=41 [84%] versus N=28 [45%]) and repeated attempts during the follow-up period (N=25 [51%] versus N=9 [15%]). Differences in precipitants and motives for the index episode were also found: patients with comorbid disorders were more depressed and hopeless, reported more episodes of aggression, were more impulsive, and had lower self-esteem and poorer problem-solving skills. Differences in self-esteem and problem-solving skills distinguished between the groups in a stepwise discriminant function analysis. More of the patients with comorbid disorders…
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The presence of personality disorder is associated with increased risk of deliberate self-harm.
“and increased risk of deliberate self-harm [76]”
From The Prevalence of Mental Disorders among the Homeless in Western Countries: Systematic Review and Meta-Regression Analysis (2008) · cites this paper as [76]
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- Authors
- Hawton, K., Houston, K., Haw, C., Townsend, E., & Harriss, L.
- Affiliations
- Warneford Hospital (GB)
- ORCID
- Townsend, Ellen
- Venue
- American Journal of Psychiatry
- Published
- 2003-08-01
- Volume
- 160
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1494-1500
- ISSN
- 0002-953X (ISSN-L)
- 1535-7228
- OpenAlex
- W2114281845
- Cited by
- 197
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 12
- FWCI
- 13.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse
- Keywords
- suicide attempts, psychiatric comorbidity, personality disorders, suicide risk, depression, hopelessness, impulsivity, self-esteem, problem-solving skills, parental suicide, parental rejection, repeated suicide attempts, suicide motives
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Mental Disorders, Depressive Disorder, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Personality Disorders, Personality Inventory, Problem Solving, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Surveys and Questionnaires, Recurrence, Risk Factors, Self Concept, Suicide, Attempted, Comorbidity
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