Anupama M1, Babool Raja2
ABSTRACT: CONTEXT: Suicide is one of the important causes of early loss of life. Many risk factors have been identified. However there are few studies on personality traits and coping styles as risk factors. AIMS: To study the factors influencing suicide, focusing on life events, personality and coping skills, in suicide attempters as compared to controls. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Study was done in a district general hospital. It was a case control study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty consecutive patients with suicide attempt referred for psychiatric evaluation and forty controls were assessed for psychiatric morbidity, life events, personality traits and coping skills. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: SPSS 10.0. RESULTS: There was significant past and family history of suicide, increase in life events in last one year among cases. Neuroticism was high among cases and extraversion was high among controls. There was some increase in emotion focused coping and decrease in problem solving and use of social support among cases. CONCLUSION: Identifying people with increased life events, especially in those with high neuroticism and improving the coping methods might reduce the risk of suicide.
