Assessing suicide risk in cluster C personality disorders.
The aim of the study was to assess suicide risk in psychiatric outpatients with specific cluster C personality disorders (avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive). A sample of 142 psychiatric outpatients was used for the study. The sample was composed of 87 outpatients meeting diagnostic criteria for a personality disorder and 53 psychiatric outpatients meeting criteria for an axis I disorder only. The results showed that dependent, but not avoidant or obsessive-compulsive, personality disorders, as well as the clusters A and B personality disorders, were significantly associated with suicide attempts. This association remained significant after controlling for both a lifetime depressive disorder and severity of depression for the cluster A and the cluster B personality disorders, but not for dependent personality disorder. The results underline the importance of assessing suicide risk in patients with cluster A and cluster B personality disorders, while the assessment of suicide risk in patients with cluster C personality disorders seems to be irrelevant as long as assessment of a comorbid depressive disorder is appropriately conducted.
Chioqueta
Andrea P
AP
Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. Andrea.Chioqueta@svt.ntnu.no
Stiles
Tore C
TC
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*