Attempted suicide, suicidal intent, and alcohol

The purpose of the present study was to relate suicidal intent to the suicide method chosen and the medical lethality of the suicidal act, and to discuss how ingestion of alcohol impacts these three factors. The study was based upon interviews with 139 suicidal patients admitted to the Department of Psychiatry of Odense University Hospital. The results indicated a tendency for suicide attempters using wrist-cutting to score low on the Suicidal Intent Scale. Patients using kinds of self-injury other than self-poisoning or wrist-cutting scored high. In the case of self-poisoning, suicidal intent did not influence the choice of toxic agent, nor was the choice of method and/or choice of toxic agent affected by alcohol ingestion. A correlation between suicidal intent and the lethality of the suicide attempt was seen only among patients without a diagnosis of alcohol dependence. Alcohol-dependent patients who made highly lethal attempts scored relatively low on the Suicidal Intent Scale. The results indicate that the lethality of the suicidal act is only an incomplete guide to a patient's suicidal intent. However, it should be stressed that, despite the fact that alcohol-dependent suicide attempters may not strongly wish to die, they are nonetheless at high risk for making fatal suicide attempts.