Factors associated with suicide attempts in alcohol abusers

Alcoholics with and without previous suicide attempts were compared on a variety of clinical variables. Drug abuse and major depression especially if accompanied by crying spells, hopelessness, or seeking psychiatric help were found more frequently in the suicide attempter group. Additionally, total psychiatric symptoms were found to be higher in the suicide attempters in various categories including somatic, obsessive-compulsive, and total number of psychiatric symptoms reported on the structured interview. These results indicate that certain psychopathological symptoms are associated with suicide attempts in alcoholics and may be predictive of completed suicide.