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Suicide and parasuicide in multiple personality disorder
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
Psychiatry
|August 1, 1989
Summary
Multiple personality disorder (MPD) is often diagnosed with suicidal ideation. This study compares MPD patients with and without suicide attempts to identify differentiating features.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Dissociative Disorders
Background:
- Multiple personality disorder (MPD) diagnosis increased in the 1980s.
- MPD diagnosis is challenging due to polysymptomatic presentation and difficulty eliciting dissociative features.
- Suicidal ideation and attempts are common presenting features in MPD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare MPD patients with a history of suicide attempts to those without.
- To identify clinical features that differentiate MPD patients who attempt suicide from those who do not.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of a series of 236 MPD cases reported by 203 clinicians in North America.
- Comparison of 48 MPD cases with no prior suicide attempts to 167 cases with previous suicide attempts.
Main Results:
- 72% of the 236 MPD patients studied had attempted suicide.
- The study aimed to identify specific differentiating features between attempters and non-attempters within this cohort.
Conclusions:
- Suicidality is a highly prevalent symptom in diagnosed cases of MPD.
- Further research is needed to elucidate specific risk factors and clinical markers for suicide attempts in MPD patients.