Personality profiles of suicidal depressed patients

To investigate the personality profiles of depressed patients who attempted suicide.

The sample consisted of 80 patients aged above 18 years who presented with suicidal attempt and had clinical depression and 80 depressed patients who had never attempted suicide. The subjects were clinically assessed for depression and measured severity objectively with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D). Personality was assessed via the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF).

The personality profile showed that patients with suicidal attempt were easily affected by feelings, emotionally less stable, concrete thinking, relatively more uninhibited and imaginative compared to those without suicidal attempt.

Depressed patients who attempted suicide appeared to have a distinctive personality profile. Exploration and intervention tailored to specific personality profile particularly emotional instability, and concrete thinking in individuals with depression should be included in management of depression for prevention and reducing risk of suicide.