Suicide attempts by firearms and by leaping from heights: a comparative study of survivors

The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical and demographic profiles of patients who deliberately harmed themselves, either by jumping from a great height or by using firearms, and survived.

The study consisted of an 18-year retrospective case history analysis of survivors of jumping and shooting identified from the database of consultation-liaison psychiatry referrals at a hospital in Sydney, Australia. Clinical and demographic information was collated and analyzed.

Fifty-one patients who had shot themselves and 31 patients who had jumped, all of whom had survived, were assessed by the consultation-liaison psychiatry team. There were clear differences between the two groups. Those who jumped were more likely to be single, unemployed, and psychotic. Those who used firearms were more likely to be male, abuse alcohol, have a forensic history, and have an antisocial or borderline personality disorder.

In this study, the subjects who attempted suicide by shooting themselves and those who did so by jumping had different profiles of mental state, personality function, and psychiatric diagnosis. The importance of mental state and specific psychiatric diagnosis as determinants of the method used has been neglected in studies of suicide. These factors should be considered along with others such as accessibility and acceptability of means, since these differences may be important when suicide prevention is considered. It is also important for psychiatrists providing consultation-liaison services to be aware of these differences in order to ensure optimal treatment of survivors.