Abstract

Objective: Suicides attempts are important public health problems. Suicide attempts are increasing day by day. Suicide attempt is not only an issue that concerns the personal mental health of individuals but also a behavior that emerges with the interaction of the environment. Suicide attempts methods vary based on the sociocultural and socioeconomic characteristics. Therefore, each society should know its own risk factors and develop its own strategies in order to prevent suicide attempts. The objective of this study was to determine the sociodemographic, forensic and psychiatric clinical characteristics of cases admitted due to suicide attempt, and to contribute to the prevention of suicide.

Methods: In this study, 78 cases of suicide attempts presented to the Forensic Medicine outpatient clinic in southeastern Türkiye were retrospectively analyzed. Data were obtained from hospital medical records, forensic reports, and psychiatry consultation notes. The cases were evaluated based on sociodemographic characteristics, reasons for the suicide attempt, the method used, psychiatric consultation status at the time of hospital admission, history of previous suicide attempts, presence of psychiatric disorders (if any), length of hospital stay, and variables related to hospital follow-up and treatment processes.

Results: Of the cases, 66.7% (n=52) were female and 33.3% (n=26) were male. The cases were mostly in the young/young adult group with a rate of 64.1% (n=50). Drug intake was the most common attempt method with 60 (76.9%) cases. Non-violent methods (n=60; 76.9%) was higher compared to violent methods (n=18; 23.1%). Suicide methods were distributed similarly in terms of gender and marital status (p>0.05). The reasons for suicide attempts were partner- and family-related conflicts in two-thirds of the cases, respectively. It was determined that psychiatric consultation was not demanded in 35.9% (n=28) of the cases by the emergency physicians. Psychiatric consultations were found to be requested more frequently in cases involving violent suicide attempts (p = .012, Cramer's V = .283). Depression was the most common diagnosis with 32 (72.7%) cases. Previous suicide attempt was found in 21 cases (26.9%). It was seen that 61 cases (78.2%) received inpatient treatment in any service in the hospital.

Conclusion: The cases were observed to be generally among the young adult age group and female individuals. The analysis of suicide methods should not rely solely on sociodemographic factors such as gender, marital status, and age, but should also take into account psychosocial and cultural influences. Intervention and prevention programs addressing partner-related problems and violence may help reduce the incidence of suicide attempts. Individuals who attempt suicide should undergo detailed psychiatric examinations and be placed under clinical follow-up.

Key words: drug; family conflict; suicide, attempted; suicide; suicide prevention; violence.