Risk factors for violent suicide attempts: Hungarian cross-sectional study
Abstract Background Individuals who die by suicide tend to share more characteristics with those who attempt suicide using violent methods than with those who employ nonviolent means. To date, limited research has been published on the demographic characteristics of individuals who engage in viole...
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Cambridge University Press
2025-01-01
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| Series: | European Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933825100424/type/journal_article |
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| author | Noémi Szeifert Lajos Bálint Barbara Sebők Xenia Gonda |
| author_facet | Noémi Szeifert Lajos Bálint Barbara Sebők Xenia Gonda |
| author_sort | Noémi Szeifert |
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Abstract
Background
Individuals who die by suicide tend to share more characteristics with those who attempt suicide using violent methods than with those who employ nonviolent means. To date, limited research has been published on the demographic characteristics of individuals who engage in violent suicide attempts.
Objectives
This study aimed to examine trends in the characteristics of violent suicidal behavior in comparison to nonviolent suicidal behavior.
Methods
Patients included in the study were consecutively admitted between 2016 and 2021 to the Dr. Manninger Jenő National Trauma Center and the Psychiatric and Toxicology Wards of Péterfy Sándor Hospital in Budapest, Hungary, for medical treatment following violent or nonviolent suicide attempts. Differences in demographic characteristics, risk factors associated with violent suicidal behavior, and methods of attempt were analyzed using Chi-square tests and logistic regression models.
Results
A total of 298 inpatients (46.1% male, 53.9% female), aged between 18 and 65 – representing the economically active population – were included in the study. The sample comprised 145 individuals who attempted suicide using nonviolent methods (73% female, 27% male) and 153 who used violent methods (64.7% male, 35.3% female). Of the total sample, 22 individuals (12.1%) died during treatment due to severe medical complications. Among male attempters, the highest proportion fell within the economically active age range of 18–55 years, whereas among female attempters, the 18–35 age group represented the highest proportion. The most common violent methods, in descending order of frequency, were stabbing (49.7%), jumping from a height (29.8%), and jumping in front of a train (7.7%). The most frequently diagnosed psychiatric disorders among the sample were major depressive disorder (42.2%), anxiety disorders (44.9%), and bipolar disorder (12%). The leading reported motives for violent suicide attempts, in decreasing order of frequency, were marital conflict (32.4%), divorce/separation/break-up (30.2%), and severe or chronic somatic illnesses (12%). When comparing the two subgroups, the strongest risk factors associated with violent suicide methods included male gender, older age, and residence in the capital city.
Conclusions
Previous studies suggest that risk factors are largely indistinguishable between individuals who engage in violent versus nonviolent suicide attempts. However, individuals who attempted suicide using violent methods exhibited characteristics more closely aligned with those who died by suicide than with the remainder of the sample. The majority of data in this study were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic – a period marked by multiple overlapping crises – which may have played a disproportionately large role in the emergence of suicide risk.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-59cf630942604fa79efb1c5fdaf124e1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0924-9338 1778-3585 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj-art-59cf630942604fa79efb1c5fdaf124e12025-08-20T03:32:58ZengCambridge University PressEuropean Psychiatry0924-93381778-35852025-01-016810.1192/j.eurpsy.2025.10042Risk factors for violent suicide attempts: Hungarian cross-sectional studyNoémi Szeifert0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3141-5116Lajos Bálint1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4467-7297Barbara Sebők2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2358-307XXenia Gonda3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9015-4203Doctoral School of Psychology, https://ror.org/01jsq2704 ELTE Eötvös Lóránd University , Budapest, Hungary Department of Sports Medicine, https://ror.org/01g9ty582Semmelweis University, Budapest, HungaryDemographic Research Institute, https://ror.org/01x1yxa13 Hungarian Central Statistical Office , Budapest, Hungary Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, https://ror.org/037b5pv06University of Pécs, Pécs, HungarySchool of PhD Studies Workgroup for Science Management, https://ror.org/01g9ty582Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary Dr. Manninger Jenő Trauma Center, Budapest, HungaryDepartment of Clinical Psychology, https://ror.org/01g9ty582Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, https://ror.org/01g9ty582Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary NAP3.0-SE Neuropsychopharmacology Research Group, Hungarian Brain Research Program, https://ror.org/01g9ty582Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary Abstract Background Individuals who die by suicide tend to share more characteristics with those who attempt suicide using violent methods than with those who employ nonviolent means. To date, limited research has been published on the demographic characteristics of individuals who engage in violent suicide attempts. Objectives This study aimed to examine trends in the characteristics of violent suicidal behavior in comparison to nonviolent suicidal behavior. Methods Patients included in the study were consecutively admitted between 2016 and 2021 to the Dr. Manninger Jenő National Trauma Center and the Psychiatric and Toxicology Wards of Péterfy Sándor Hospital in Budapest, Hungary, for medical treatment following violent or nonviolent suicide attempts. Differences in demographic characteristics, risk factors associated with violent suicidal behavior, and methods of attempt were analyzed using Chi-square tests and logistic regression models. Results A total of 298 inpatients (46.1% male, 53.9% female), aged between 18 and 65 – representing the economically active population – were included in the study. The sample comprised 145 individuals who attempted suicide using nonviolent methods (73% female, 27% male) and 153 who used violent methods (64.7% male, 35.3% female). Of the total sample, 22 individuals (12.1%) died during treatment due to severe medical complications. Among male attempters, the highest proportion fell within the economically active age range of 18–55 years, whereas among female attempters, the 18–35 age group represented the highest proportion. The most common violent methods, in descending order of frequency, were stabbing (49.7%), jumping from a height (29.8%), and jumping in front of a train (7.7%). The most frequently diagnosed psychiatric disorders among the sample were major depressive disorder (42.2%), anxiety disorders (44.9%), and bipolar disorder (12%). The leading reported motives for violent suicide attempts, in decreasing order of frequency, were marital conflict (32.4%), divorce/separation/break-up (30.2%), and severe or chronic somatic illnesses (12%). When comparing the two subgroups, the strongest risk factors associated with violent suicide methods included male gender, older age, and residence in the capital city. Conclusions Previous studies suggest that risk factors are largely indistinguishable between individuals who engage in violent versus nonviolent suicide attempts. However, individuals who attempted suicide using violent methods exhibited characteristics more closely aligned with those who died by suicide than with the remainder of the sample. The majority of data in this study were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic – a period marked by multiple overlapping crises – which may have played a disproportionately large role in the emergence of suicide risk. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933825100424/type/journal_articlenon-violent suicide attemptpsychiatric disorderssuicidologysuicide preventionviolent suicide attempt |
| spellingShingle | Noémi Szeifert Lajos Bálint Barbara Sebők Xenia Gonda Risk factors for violent suicide attempts: Hungarian cross-sectional study European Psychiatry non-violent suicide attempt psychiatric disorders suicidology suicide prevention violent suicide attempt |
| title | Risk factors for violent suicide attempts: Hungarian cross-sectional study |
| title_full | Risk factors for violent suicide attempts: Hungarian cross-sectional study |
| title_fullStr | Risk factors for violent suicide attempts: Hungarian cross-sectional study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Risk factors for violent suicide attempts: Hungarian cross-sectional study |
| title_short | Risk factors for violent suicide attempts: Hungarian cross-sectional study |
| title_sort | risk factors for violent suicide attempts hungarian cross sectional study |
| topic | non-violent suicide attempt psychiatric disorders suicidology suicide prevention violent suicide attempt |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933825100424/type/journal_article |
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