The 24 Hours before Hospitalization: Factors Related to Suicide Attempting

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Abstract
Fifty‐nine psychiatric inpatients were interviewed concerning the psychological and environmental events that occurred in the 24 hours prior to their hospitalization. Independent raters then performed a content evaluation of these accounts, allowing for comparisons among patients admitted for a suicide attempt, suicide ideation, or non‐suicide‐related complaints. Results showed that suicide attempters were more likely to have used alcohol or marijuana and less likely to have contacted a health care professional than suicide ideators, even when past history of suicide behavior was controlled for. Suicide ideators were more likely to have contacted a mental health professional. Implications for suicide risk assessment and intervention are discussed.