A longitudinal follow-up study of 583 attempted suicides, based on Hungarian material

The author reports on a study conducted in three county districts, the first investigation in Hungary to also entail a follow-up study. The investigation includes all cases of attempted suicide in a 10-year period. The follow-up period was 6-16 years, an average of 11.6 years. The authors points out that in Hungary, as elsewhere, persons who have already attempted suicide are at a higher risk of committing suicide later. The distribution of this risk, however, is inhomogeneous. The subpopulation of adolescents clearly differs from the other groups, and the author tries to find the causes of this fact. He examines the lives of the persons he terms "serious attempters" after their attempt, taking into account in his sample the epidemiologic-demographical characteristics of the persons, whom he categorizes as nonserious, serious, and completed suicides.