精神科에 依賴된 大邱 慶北 地域 自殺企圖者의 精神社會的 特性

Psychosocial Characteristics of Suicide Attempters in the Taegu-Kyungpook Area Referred to Department of Psychiatry

The purpose o f this study was to investigate the psychosocial characteristics o f suicide attempters. The subjects of the study were 104 suicide attempters who were referred to or admitted at the psychiatric department o f four university hospitals in Taegu from April 1992 to June 1993. The results were as follows : 1) The demographic charactertistics of the suicide attempters are shown in predominant percents as : male-female ratio was 1 : 1 with age distribution in their 20s(43.3%) ; in marital status, single was 60.1 % with male predominance ; above high school education, 65.4% ; nonreligious, 55.8% ; unemployed, 37.5% ; residence in large cities, 57.7 %. 2) Previous suicide attempts of the subjects occupied 21.9% and those who had past history of attempted suicide among the family members occupied 13.5% 3) Self-poisoning was the most frequent method o f suicide attempts in such order as poisons and psychotropics. The second most frequent method was self-injury with the wrist, the most prevalent site. Razor blade was the most outstanding tool to be used. Male used dangerous tools with more diverse sites and heavier wounds than female. 4) Home was chosen most often as a place for suicide attempts topped by summer as the favorable season compared with winter as the most unfavorable. Timewise, afternoon was the most prevalent Most o f the attempts took place when no one was around. 5) Most of the attempters revealed their suicidal intention to family members, close friends or doctors. 6) The majority of the attempters suffered from various psychiatric disorders • mood disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorder, alcoholism in order. Schizophrenia and alcoholism were more frequent among the male while mood disorder and personality disorder among the female. 7) In the mood changes before and after the attempts, about half the attempters said they felt light-hearted afterward with only a few complained o f aggravated mood. Most regretted their suicidal behavior and again the majority said “I want to live”. 8) The most precipitating factor for the attempts was mental disorder, followed by family feud, occupational ( academic) problem and conflict from love affair. The family feud and conflict from love affair were significantly more frequent among the female. 9) In motivation of sucide attempts, self-punishment and atonement topped to be followed by retaliation, manipulation or attention-seeking, self-abandonment and auditory hallucination. 10) The departments the attempters visited most frequently for treatment after the attempts were internal medicine and psychiatry. 11) The attempters’ attitude toward parents was more o f positive than of negative one, but the prevailing reason of the negative attitude was their indifference, with nervousness on the mother’s side and violence on the father’s. O n the other hand, the parents’ attitude toward the attempters was shown largely in the forms o f severe worry and experssion of deep concern, more for male’s suicide attempt 12) When recommended for psychiatric treatment, over the half were willing to comply. The above results were the psychosocial characteristics o f suicide attempters in the Taegu- Kyungpook area. Further study on these characteristics is required in terms of cultural psychiatry.