Suicidal behavior among patients in Bavarian mental hospitals

The present research is a retrospective study to establish whether the number of suicides and attempted suicides has varied over two decades and which factors - size of the hospitals, patient admissions, physician and nursing personnel relationship with the patients, and forced admissions - are connected with such change. The analysis covers the decades 1950-1959 and 1967-1976. It was possible to establish a significant increase in attempted suicide and suicide during the second decade relative to the first one. The increase in suicide rate was observed in only three of the 10 investigated hospitals, while the attempted suicide rate increased in four hospitals. A relationship between number of beds and attempted suicide was observed only during the second decade and for suicide only in the first decade. In both decades forced admission had a significant influence on attempted suicide in contrast to suicide.