Suicide Notes Research Articles

Species Suicide Notes

Abstract This article tracks the history of species suicide, a phrase that originally referred to a potential nuclear holocaust but is now increasingly cited in Anthropocene discourses to account for continued carbon emissions in the face of catastrophic climate change. With its Anglophone roots in the Cold War, species suicide discourse unites concerns about nuclear arsenals, so-called overpopulation, and environmental injustice across disciplines. Species suicide discourse is indebted to the US-based field of suicide prevention, which for more than half a century has analyzed suicide notes in search of effective prevention methods. Therefore, to theorize suicide prevention in relation to anthropogenic climate change, this article imagines a version of this genre that mediates between individual and collective subjects—called a species suicide note. As an example, the interdisciplinary and multimedia art project “Dear Climate” (2012–ongoing) by Una Chaudhuri, Oliver Kellhammer, and Marina Zurkow rewrites familiar narratives of crisis, shifting species suicide notes toward irony and unconventional techniques of hope. In analyzing these performative species suicide notes, the author complicates species suicide prevention by foregrounding narratives of irony. These notes accentuate a self-reflexive irony that works toward climate justice for vulnerable humans and more-than-human species.

Differences between suicide note leavers and other suicides: A German psychological autopsy study

IntroductionSuicide notes are not only the last personal message from the suicide victim to the bereaved, but are also a valuable source for research in preventing suicides. However, not all suicide victims leave a suicide note and it is unclear whether note leavers are representative of the general population of suicide victims. MethodsThe aim of our study was to compare suicide victims who leave a suicide note compared to those who do not. Therefore, data from the Allgäu Suicide Study, which comprised detailed information on N = 626 suicides, were analysed using multiple regression analyses. ResultsOf N = 612 cases with complete data, n = 255(42%) left a suicide note and n = 357 (58%) did not. Persons who wrote suicide notes before they killed themselves were more often female, less often married, found themselves more often in a financial or partnership crisis, and were more likely to suffer from a medical illness. They tended to poison themselves more often and were less likely to have a history of alcohol abuse disorder. ConclusionSuicide notes are one source to better understand the motives, which lie behind suicides and therefore may help to further develop and improve suicide prevention programs. Keeping in mind that suicide has heterogeneous reasons, the group of “note writers” might be one, which might especially have benefitted from psychosocial and psychotherapeutic interventions, as interpersonal relationships obviously played an important role even shortly before suicide.

A Multitask Framework to Detect Depression, Sentiment and Multi-label Emotion from Suicide Notes

The significant rise in suicides is a major cause of concern in public health domain. Depression plays a major role in increasing suicide ideation among the individuals. Although most of the suicides can be avoided with prompt intercession and early diagnosis, it has been a serious challenge to detect the at-risk individuals. Our current work focuses on learning three closely related tasks, viz. depression detection, sentiment citation, and to investigate their impact in analysing the mental state of the victims. We extend the existing standard emotion annotated corpus of suicide notes in English, CEASE, with additional 2539 sentences collected from 120 new notes. We annotate the consolidated corpus with appropriate depression labels and multi-label emotion classes. We further leverage weak supervision to annotate the corpus with sentiment labels. We propose a deep multitask framework that features a knowledge module that uses SenticNet’s IsaCore and AffectiveSpace vector-spaces to infuse external knowledge specific features into the learning process. The system models emotion recognition (the primary task), depression detection and sentiment classification (the secondary tasks) simultaneously. Experiments show that our proposed multitask system obtains the highest cross-validation MR of 56.47 %. Evaluation results show that all our multitask models perform better than their single-task variants indicating that the secondary tasks (depression detection and sentiment classification) improve the performance of the primary task (emotion recognition) when all tasks are learned jointly.

FORENSIC EXPERTISE OF SIGNATURES AND HANDWRITING - MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH

Forensic expertise of signatures and handwriting is a very important activity in criminalistics. It reveals whether the defendant is the author of the disputed text or has signed the disputed document. This type of expertise is most often used in cases when it is necessary to prove the existence of the criminal offense of forging a document, but also in many other cases (such as expertise of suicide letters or contracts), which indicates the need for a multidisciplinary approach to exploring of this kind of expertise.This paper presents the basic characteristics of this form of expertise and indicates the difficulties that may arise in practice. The aim of this paper is to identify opportunities for further development of signature and handwriting expertise in theory and practice, as a powerful tool for detecting many crimes and their perpetrators.

A comparison of farming- and non-farming-related suicides from the United States' National Violent Deaths Reporting System, 2003-2016.

Farmers are at higher risk of suicide than other occupations and the general population. The complex suicide risk factors have not been examined in a large, population-wide study across a significant time period. Thisobservational study drawson existing data from the United States' National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), including 140,523 farming- or non-farming-related suicide decedents between 2003 and 2016 from across 40 states. "Farming-related" decedents included 2,801 suicides. Farmers had higher odds of being male, older, less well-educated, and American Indian/Alaska Native. Farmers had higher odds of using firearms and-when farmers used a gun-higher odds of using a long-arm weapon. Farmers had lower odds of having a known mental health condition or job problem, and lower odds of having made a previous suicide attempt or leaving a suicide note. Findings highlight the complexity of suicide risk within thecontext of farming in the United States and reinforce the need for tailored prevention efforts; employing means restriction of firearms; and emphasizingthat traditional risk factors may not be as common in the farming population.

Planned complex suicide by hanging and drowning in a water drum inscribed with suicide note

Planned complex suicide by hanging and drowning in a water drum inscribed with suicide note

PARODY AND METAFICTIONALITY AS DEFAMILIARIZATION DEVICES IN MARTIN AMIS’S NOVEL MONEY: A SUICIDE NOTE

The article discusses the way defamiliarization is achieved in Martin Amis’s novel Money: A Suicide Note (1984) through parody, the comical perspective, and the metafictional elements. In the introduction the concept of defamiliarization is briefly explained while the first section describes the use of parody in the novel. Amis’s book parodies several literary techniques and is also a parody – as well as a critique – of the 1980s Britain and America, especially its consumerist ethos. By adopting a comical perspective, Amis creates a distancing effect between himself and the novel’s protagonist, John Self. He is an unreliable and unlikable narrator and often his description borders on the grotesque, which also adds to the defamiliarization effect. The metafictional elements in the novel, discussed in the second section, are also important and they contribute to the distancing effect, by defamiliarizing what is commonly expected from a work of fiction. One of the most important metafictional (or self-referential) elements is the inclusion of the author as a character in the novel. This technique encourages the reader to re-evaluate the relation the author has with their own work, which is now seen from a defamiliarized perspective

Examining Suicide and its Warning Signs and Determinants in a County of Illinois, 2014 to 2020: Implications for Future Research and Prevention

This study is to examine the trend in suicide over the last 12 years in a county of IL; establish warning signs leading up to suicide; identify major risk factors of suicide among the decedents; as well as explore preventative measures for future suicide interventions. It’s a mixed-methods retrospective cross-sectional study. A total of 264 existing suicide case files between 2014 and 2020 were reviewed. Based on the current literature, the suicide data collection instrument was developed to include four sections: demographics, medical history, warning signs, and risks of suicide. A total of 96 variables were included to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. Data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. From 2014 to 2020, a total of 264 suicide deaths occurred in the county with the highest number in 2017 and lowest in 2010. Approximately 77.3% of the suicide deaths were males and 81.1% were non-veterans. About 31.4% of the cases left a suicide note; 22.1% had previously attempted suicide; and 49.2% had previous suicide ideation. About 39.4% of the deaths were caused by gunshot wounds, 39.4% were caused by suffocation, and 15.5% were caused by poisoning. More than half of the cases (58.3%) had a mental illness, including depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. Nearly 45.5% of the cases were taking prescription medications. Roughly 41.7% of the cases indicated they were in a troubled relationship, 33.0% indicated they could be grieving the loss of parents, significant others, children, and siblings. Only 23.9% of the cases had received suicide prevention treatment, such as hospitalization or admittance to a mental health center, prior to their suicide death. Future endeavors should consider developing suicide prevention strategies/interventions within the domains of the Social Ecological Model, including building social capital, issuing temporary firearms restraining orders, and establishing community-based suicide prevention training/screening programs.

“Going Easily Under”: Waguih Ghali’s Diary of Depression

Egyptian Anglophone writer Waguih Ghali (192? – 1969) has been mostly known for his novel Beer in the Snooker Club (London: Serpent's Tale, 1987) up until his diaries appeared in an online archive dedicated solely to his unpublished papers. A few years ago, the American University in Cairo published Ghali’s diaries into two volumes under the title The Diaries of Waguih Ghali: An Egyptian Writer in the Swinging Sixties (Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2016, 2017). They were released to readers and fans, playing the role of a long awaited second work and also satisfying the general curiosity around his life before his suicide in the late sixties. In May 1964, Ghali started keeping his diary as an attempt to deal with his depression which culminated in his final entry being his suicide note: the trajectory Ghali’s diary takes is that of ‘feeling bad’. Ghali struggles with bouts of depression and although is unable to write more fiction, continues to write about his almost daily battle with mental illness in the practice of keeping the diary. His diaries reveal various emotions that stem out of his depression: sadness, disgust, anger, loneliness, and heartbreak. This paper will trace the affective outpourings of Ghali’s depression within the genre structure of the diary taking into consideration that his diary is not only a diary of depression but also of exile. The paper will attempt to understand how exile as a state of being affects Ghali’s emotional state. Moreover, by connecting how Ghali writes about ‘feeling bad’ in the form of a diary, the paper questions the relationship between his practice as a diarist to his display of such feelings.

Rohith-Movement, Conversion, and Renaming

Abstract Reflecting on the “suicide” of the anti-caste student activist in India, Rohith Vemula, now a Dalit icon, this paper looks at the various meanings that his suicide note generates for the Dalit present. Mobilizing historical and philosophical material, particularly the work of anti-caste intellectuals such as Ambedkar and Iyothee Thass, the paper argues that conversion and renaming, among the oppressed, are acts that move toward becoming-other.

Is there any link between celebrity suicide and further suicidal behaviour in India?

Little is known about the factors that determine vulnerability to subsequent suicide in the community following a celebrity suicide. Our objective was to investigate the link between an alleged celebrity suicide and further suicidal behaviour in the community in India. Relevant news articles that reported suicidal behaviour in the population were retrieved from online news portals of regional and English language newspapers in the immediate month following the actor's death. A deductive analysis of the retrieved suicide news articles was carried out using a pre-designed data extraction form. A total of 1160 relevant news articles were identified from the local language (n = 985) and English (n = 175) newspapers. For a sizeable percentage of these reports (n = 65, 5.6%), the media reported links with celebrity suicide. Odds of subsequent suicide among young (Odds Ratios [OR] - 9.24), female (OR - 1.94), unemployed (OR - 7.26), those without precipitating life events (OR - 2.94) or mental illness (OR - 1.69) were higher among those with link to celebrity suicide; likewise, odds of death by hanging (OR - 49.84) and leaving a suicide note (OR - 2.03) were higher among those linked to celebrity suicide. English newspapers (OR - 4.23) were more likely to report events linked to celebrity suicide than local language newspapers. Persons who died by suicide by hanging after a celebrity suicide are more likely to be young, female, unemployed, have a mental disorder or precipitating life events. Suicide prevention efforts must focus on this group and prevent the same method of suicide like that of the celebrity.

HEDGES EXPRESSIONS IN CONFESSIONAL DISCOURSE OF IDA CRADDOCK’S SUICIDE NOTES

Some people commited suicide tried to express what they felt and left message explaining the causes of why they committed suicide. The suicide note was written by the person who commited suicide as a purpose to give a sign to other people. One of those people was Ida Craddck who was a 19th century American. She advocated freedom of speech and women rights who committed suicide because of inappropriate decision from the judge. Her books were prosecuted by Anthony Comstock as obscene literature. This study was aimed to examine the hedges expressions that maintained the functions of confessional texts which were used by Craddock. The results found that hedges were used on her confessions to support her criticism and wish to the public. Those criticism and wish were confessed by Craddock to aware the public about people’s freedom condition. Her confessions had function to tell her personal story that led her to suicide which could be learnt by other people so that they could have a better life. Finally, hedges were used to express her uncertainty of the truth of what she confessed about her cause of death.

Racial/ethnic and gender differences in the antecedents of youth suicide.

This study examined racial/ethnic and gender differences in the antecedents of adolescent suicide deaths in the United States. Using postmortem data (N = 3,996, mean age = 16.01, 77% male) from the National Violent Death Reporting System, the authors investigated whether White, Black, Native American, Asian Pacific Islander American, and Latinx youths aged 10 to 18 varied in their rates of circumstances that either preceded or appear to have contributed to their suicides. Gender differences and gender by race/ethnicity moderation effects were examined in addition to racial/ethnic differences. These antecedents included, but were not limited to, mental health problems and treatment, history of suicide attempt and suicidal ideation, presence of a suicide note, interpersonal problems, substance abuse problems, school problems, and exposure to the death or suicide of a loved one. Logistic regression analyses revealed racial/ethnic and gender differences in the prevalence of several antecedents of youth suicide. One race/ethnicity by gender moderation effect related to suicide notes was identified. The findings suggest considerable gender and racial/ethnic heterogeneity in suicide risk factors and highlight the need for more research on suicidal behavior in minority youths, as well as culturally tailored prevention efforts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

KLIWC를 이용한 수용자 자살유서 특성에 관한 전수조사 연구 : - 일반인 유서와의 비교를 통해 -

본 연구는 수용자 자살 유서의 차별화된 언어 및 심리학적 특 징을 탐색적으로 분석하기 위하여, 89개의 수용 자살 사망자와 276개의 일반 자살 사망자를 대상으로 한국어 언어분석 프로그 램(KLIWC)을 실시하였다. 분석 결과, 미결 수용자는 기결 수용 자에 비해 유서에서 억울함 내용을 더 많이 드러냈다. 또한 집단 간 개별 t-검증을 실시하였을 때, 일반인과의 언어학적 변인 차 이를 살펴보면 수용 자살 사망자는 형태소, 어절, 문장을 더 많 이 사용한 것이 특징적으로 보여졌고, 이는 일반인에 비해 수용 자가 유서를 더 길게 쓴다는 것을 의미하였다. 마지막으로 심리 학적 차원에서 보면 수용자의 자살유서에서는 추론/추정, 기대, 불안/공포 내용이 유의미하게 높게 나타났다. 본 연구는 현재 수 용자 자살이라는 심각한 수준의 사회적 문제를 수용자가 처해있 는 환경과 개인적인 인지, 성격 및 정서적 특징을 언어심리학적 (psycholinguistic)인 관점에서 탐색한 데 의의를 가진다. 따라서 본 연구는 탐색적 수준에서 분석하였기에 수용 자살 사망자만의 독특한 특성에 따른 연구 결과를 바탕으로, 향후 이들의 자살 원인과 예방 대책을 마련하기 위한 추가연구의 필요성과 시사점을 제시하였다.

남원 윤씨 열행 기록 ｢애종용(哀從容)｣ 연구 - 여성 중심 관계성과 유서 언어의 번역 불가능성을 중심으로 -

이 논문은 18세기 후반 남편을 따라 죽은 순절 열녀인 남원 윤씨 (1768~1801)의 열행 기록인 ｢애종용｣에 실려 있는 생애 기록 ‘언행록’과 윤 씨의 ‘유서’를 비교 분석한다. 이를 통해 남성 사대부의 여성 재현과 여성 스스로의 자기 생애 서사 사이의 거리와 의미를 주목하였다. 특히 ｢애종 용｣ 속 남원 윤씨의 유서는 한글 원본 없이 한문 번역본으로만 남아있는 데 이 두 자료의 비교를 통해 비가시화된 여성 중심 관계성, 조선후기 여 성의 말을 둘러싼 이중의 언어 체계, 유서 언어의 번역 불가능성의 문제 등을 탐구하고자 하였다. ‘언행록’은 윤씨를 정형화된 열녀의 모습으로 그리고 있으며 가장 중요 한 인물인 부친과 남편과의 관계를 중심으로 그의 생애를 재현한다. 이에 비해 윤씨 자신이 남긴 기록인 ‘유서’ 9통에서 가장 중요한 존재로 부각되 는 것은 주변의 여성들, 즉 동서와 여종들이다. 특히 부친을 비롯한 친지 에게 남긴 유서에서 공식적인 어조로 사후의 부탁을 전달하는 것에 비해동서와 여종에게 준 유서에는 자신의 고통스러운 심경, 상대에 대한 걱정, 유언의 실행 방법 등을 상세하게 전하고 있다. 뿐만 아니라 윤씨는 모든 유서에서 여종인 점열 모녀 삼대의 면천을 가장 큰 유언으로 남기면서, 자기 사후 이들을 멀리 떠나서 살게 할 것, 점열의 손녀 금이의 완전한 속 량을 자신이 보증할 것을 거듭 확언한다. 이러한 유서의 생애 재현은 그 의 생전의 삶이 일상 속에서 보살핌을 공유하는 여성 중심 관계성 속에서 이루어졌음을 보여주는 것이라고 해석하였다. 그러나 남성 중심의 지배 사회에서 여성 중심 관계성은 열녀와 같은 도덕적 주체에게 적합하지 않은 것, 사회적으로 가시화되거나 의미화되지 않는 것이었다. 언행록과 윤씨의 한역(漢譯) 유서는 여성의 언어와 생애 재현을 둘러싼 이중의 억압을 보여주며 나아가 순절이라는 여성 경험의 궁극적 번역 불가능성을 나타낸다고 분석하였다.

The Process Type and Participant Function of Jiah Khan’s, Kevin Carter’s, and Virginia Woolf’s Suicide Discourses

In this article, the process type and participant function of Jiah Khan’s, Kevin Carter’s, and Virginia Woolf’s suicide notes are analyzed. This article actually is a continuation of the article entitled Experiences around the Clauses: A Transitivity Analysis of Four Famous People’s Suicide Notes published by Vivid: Journal of Language and Literature (see Sawirman and Ridhwani, 2020) about the transitivity system, including process types, participant functions, and circumstantial elements, used in these suicide notes. Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) theory is applied. Not only qualitative approach but also descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Existing documents are one of the instruments to collect the data. Four suicide letters namely a suicide note written by Jiah Khan in 2016, a suicide letter written by Kevin Carter and published by TIME in 2001 entitles The Life and Death of Kevin Carter, and two Virginia Woolf’s suicide discourse published by Quentin Bell entitle Virginia Woolf: A Biography: 1912-1941 (1972) and an autobiography entitles The Journey Not the Arrival Matters: an Autobiography of the Years 1939 to 1970.

Experiences Around the Clauses: A Transitivity Analysis of Four Famous People’s Suicide Notes

Four suicide notes written by three famous people, Jiah Khan, Kevin Carter, and Virginia Woolf, were analyzed in this study. Systemic Functional Linguistics theory especially about transitivity proposed by Halliday is used to see the ideational meaning of all four suicide notes by identifying the elements of the clauses. This study was conducted with a qualitative method assisted by a descriptive statistical method to see the spread and functions of the elements of transitivity in the suicide notes. To analyze the text based on the theory of transitivity, the text is divided into clauses based on the type of process, then each element of the existing process, participant, and circumstantial element is calculated. The results show that out of 170 total processes found, the material process (42.94%) is the most dominant process, followed by the mental process (28.82%), the relational process (19.41%), the verbal process (5.29%), the behavioral process (2.94%), and the existential process (0.59%). Just like the process type, from the two types of participants (who are directly involved and obliquely involved) that exist, actor (22.88%) and scope (15.36%) which are the participants of the material process are the most dominant participants. While the existent (0.31%) which is the participant of the existential process, has the lowest occurrence frequency. For the circumstantial element, location which consists of place and time is the most dominant circumstantial element. The location accounts for 44% of the circumstantial elements in all four suicide notes. Furthermore, Jiah Khan’s suicide note with the material process as the most dominant process describes the unpleasant behavior she experienced, which then leads to betrayal, sacrifice, self-destruction, loss, and loneliness. Whereas Kevin Carter’s suicide note with the relational process of attributive as the most dominant process describes regret, pressure, and despair. Then both Virginia Woolf’s suicide notes show how she blamed herself for what happened although it has different dominant processes between the first suicide note and the second suicide note.

Richard Kogan’s Tchaikovsky Lecture Now Online

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article APA & MeetingsFull AccessRichard Kogan’s Tchaikovsky Lecture Now OnlineNick ZagorskiNick ZagorskiSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:11 Jun 2020https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2020.6b8AbstractThe 30-minute video is a condensed version of Kogan’s typical crowd-favorite lectures, which combine discussion about the link between musical artistry and mental illness with piano performances by Kogan, offering listeners a sense of the composer’s state of mind at the time.Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s death in 1893 is commonly attributed to cholera (outbreaks were a reoccurring problem in 19th-century Russia), but the exact cause of death is still a matter of scholarly debate. As psychiatrist and award-winning pianist Richard Kogan, M.D., plays the gentle closing notes of Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique Symphony written that same year, he hears the most eloquent suicide note ever written.Kogan describes Tchaikovsky’s music and more in the 30-minute musical lecture titled “The Mind and Music of Tchaikovsky.” The video is a condensed version of Kogan’s typical crowd-favorite lectures at the APA Annual Meeting, which combine discussion about the link between musical artistry and mental illness with piano performances by Kogan offering listeners a sense of the composer’s state of mind at the time.Many APA members are familiar with Kogan, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, artistic director of the Weill Cornell Music and Medicine Program, and co-director of the Weill Cornell Human Sexuality Program. He has given his lauded lectures/performances on the link between musical artistry and mental illness at many meetings past. At APA’s 2020 Annual Meeting, which could not be held due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kogan was scheduled to perform as part of the William C. Menninger Memorial Convocation Lecture.Kogan’s Bernstein Lecture Also Now AvailableIn response to positive feedback from the Tchaikovsky video, Kogan has recently developed and uploaded another installment of his lecture series for interested viewers. The second video focuses on acclaimed American composer Leonard Bernstein, which Kogan previously performed at the 2018 Annual Meeting in New York. The video can be seen here. Also, stay tuned to Kogan’s personal channel for more potential videos in the future.In his video, Kogan explores Tchaikovsky’s despondency as well as his shame over his sexual orientation, and how these feelings led to the creation of some of history’s greatest pieces—from the melodic (and oft-parodied) love theme from Romeo and Juliet to the structurally groundbreaking opening of his first concerto.Though a video cannot fully recapture the experience of listening to live music in a communal setting, the video format enabled Kogan to add a few elements not available in a live presentation. These include having relevant music play in the background while Kogan explains Tchaikovsky’s feelings and an orchestral background to some of the pieces.Kogan noted that music in one form or another has long served as a source of solace during difficult times. “Music has the extraordinary power to lift spirits and soothe anxiety,” he said, noting that Tchaikovsky himself used musical composition as a tool for self-healing (He once wrote, “Without music, I would go insane.”). Kogan said he hopes his video might likewise provide some solace from the stresses of COVID-19 that his fellow psychiatrists and others are facing. ■The video “The Mind and Music of Tchaikovsky” is posted here. ISSUES NewArchived

TRANSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF GAVIN EUGENE LONG'S SUICIDE NOTE: A FORENSIC LINGUISTIC STUDY

Gavin Eugene Long was a gunman who did a mass shooting in Baton Rouge in 2016. Before he was dead, a suicide note was left. The suicide note was a potential proof to investigate the deeds he wanted to convey before he was dead. Such phenomenal note deserves to be contested as the case for the present study. Therefore, this study aims at understanding the note as seen through from forensic linguistic point of view. To understand the note, Forensic Linguistic (FL) study is required to do since suicide note is in the domain of it. Since FL relies upon linguistic analysis, Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistic (SFL) framework is applied. In the framework, ideational metafunction is chosen to be observed. The results of the observation show that the transitivity processes employed in the note reflect the deeds Long wanted to convey in relation to the mass shooting he did. Keywords: forensic linguistic, suicide note, systemic functional linguistic, transitivity.

Socio-demographic factors and suicidal behavior among the patients with psychiatric disorder attending outpatient department of a tertiary level hospital

The majority of suicides worldwide are related to psychiatric disorders. Overall, suicide rates vary concerning the age, gender, and socioeconomic status of the individual and the method of suicide. The objectives of the study were to find the socio-demographic factors and suicidal behavior associated with suicidal attempts in patients with psychiatric disorders. A cross-sectional, hospital-based, descriptive study was conducted among the patients attending the psychiatry outpatient departments (OPD) of the National Institute of Mental Health, Dhaka, Bangladesh. A total of 98 consecutive cases were included those who were at and above18year, have a definite psychiatric disorder and history of suicidal attempt. The data were collected by face-to face interview using semi structured questionnaire. The study identified that most of the patients were in the age group 21-30 years (53.1%), mean age± SD was 27.02±8.42, more in female (66.2%), housewives (35.7%), 57.1% were from an urban background and 35.7% of them studied up to SSC. The vast majority (73.5%) came from a nuclear family. Suicidal behavior revealed that mean suicidal attempt was 2.63±2.84, Communication intent was 20.4%, Suicidal note was put by10.2%, at home (90.8%),59.2%, sample choose day time and common method were hanging (25.5%) and medicine (22.4%). Help nearby in 72.4%, precaution against rescue was 18.4%, intent to die was 65.3% and hospitalization needed for 34.7% cases. Suicides can be prevented by early identification, diagnosis and proper intervention of psychiatric disorder among risk groups. Restricting access to means of suicide, by training caregivers, provide adequate follow-up care may reduce impulsive suicidal attempts.
 Bang J Psychiatry June 2018; 32(1): 14-18