Help-Seeking Behavior Prior to Nearly Lethal Suicide Attempts

The association between help‐seeking and nearly lethal suicide attempts was evaluated using data from a population‐based, case‐control study of 153 13‐ to 34‐year‐old suicide attempt case‐patients treated at emergency departments in Houston, Texas, and a random sample of 513 control‐subjects. Measur...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Suicide & life-threatening behavior 2002-12, Vol.32 (s1), p.68-75
Main Authors: Barnes, Lauren Seymour, Ikeda, Robin M., Kresnow, Marcie-jo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescents
Adult
Affective Measures
Behavior
Behavior Patterns
Behavioral Symptoms - psychology
Case Studies
Case-Control Studies
Catchment Area (Health)
Client Characteristics (Human Services)
Consultants
Correlation analysis
Data Analysis
Depressive Disorder - psychology
Female
Help Seeking
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Predictor Variables
Psychological Patterns
Suicide
Suicide Prevention
Suicide, Attempted - classification
Suicide, Attempted - prevention & control
Suicide, Attempted - psychology
Suicides & suicide attempts
Texas
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Summary:The association between help‐seeking and nearly lethal suicide attempts was evaluated using data from a population‐based, case‐control study of 153 13‐ to 34‐year‐old suicide attempt case‐patients treated at emergency departments in Houston, Texas, and a random sample of 513 control‐subjects. Measures of help‐seeking included whether the participant sought help for health/emotional problems in the past month, type of consultant contacted, and whether suicide was discussed during the interaction. Overall, friends/family were consulted most frequently (48%). After controlling for potential confounders, case‐patients were less likely than control‐subjects to seek help from any consultant (OR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.3–0.8) or a professional (e.g., physician, counselor) consultant (OR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.29–0.8). Among those who sought help, case‐patients were more likely than to discuss suicide (OR = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.2–5.4), particularly with professionals (OR = 11.8, 95% CI = 3.2–43.2). Our findings suggest that efforts to better understand the role of help‐seeking in suicide prevention, including help sought from family and friends, deserves further attention.
ISSN:0363-0234
1943-278X
DOI:10.1521/suli.32.1.5.68.24217