Stressors in attempted suicide by poisoning: a sex comparison.
OBJECTIVE
To identify stressors in attempted suicide by poisoning and to analyze differences between men and women.


METHODS
This quantitative, comparative, cross-sectional study evaluated 110 patients aged between 14 and 78 years. The following instruments used were: standardized Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) version 5.0.0 and an interview form specifically designed for the study.


RESULTS
70% of the suicide attempters were female; mean age was 28.1 years; 98.2% presented at least one psychiatric disorder. Among the stressors assessed, significant differences were observed between men and women for: not having a spouse, 72.7% among men and 54.5% among women; attempted suicide planning, 66.7% among men and 46.8% among women; being under the influence of alcohol during the attempted suicide, 51.5% among men and 26.0% among women; harmful use of alcohol, 42.4% in men and 22.1% in women; sexual abuse, 22.1% in women and 6.1% in men.


CONCLUSIONS
Women presented a three times higher number of attempted suicides by poisoning. The identification of stressors with significant differences between sexes in the high-risk population here described can help define and organize strategies aimed at suicide prevention. Similar studies should be conducted in the general population.
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neuropsiquiatria e Ciências do Comportamento, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil.
Maria Cláudia da Cruz
MC
Pires
Departamento de Estatística, UFPE.
Maria Cristina Falcão
MC
Raposo
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neuropsiquiatria e Ciências do Comportamento, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil.
Marcela
M
Pires
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Neuropsiquiatria e Ciências do Comportamento, UFPE.
Everton Botelho
EB
Sougey
Universidade de Pernambuco, UFPE, Recife, PE, Brazil.
Othon Coelho
OC
Bastos Filho