Threatened and attempted suicide by partner-violent male respondents petitioned to family violence court.
The authors examined threatened and attempted suicide among partner-violent male respondents in a family court domestic violence intervention court based on the reports of 101 women petitioning the court for orders of protection. Suicidal behavior was prevalent; 45.5% of respondents had a history of threatened suicide and 12.9% had a history of suicide attempts. Most recent threats were clustered in the previous 6 months (70.5%) with one-fourth occurring within a week of the petition, potentially indicating a desperate response to a deteriorating relationship. Attempts were not clustered in recent months. Men with a history of threatened or attempted suicide were shown to have been more violent at the index offense and greater domestic violence severity overall, potentially indicating a subsample of more severely partner-violent men also at particularly heightened risk for suicide. The study of suicidal behavior in partner-violent men may inform the prevention of suicide and severe domestic violence.
Conner
Kenneth R
KR
University of Rochester Medical Center, The State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Law Family Violence Clinic, NY 14642, USA.
Cerulli
Catherine
C
Caine
Eric D
ED
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009518:New York; D012306:Risk; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D000092864:Suicide Prevention