title: Alcohol use to facilitate a suicide attempt: an event-based examination.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The current study is based on the hypothesis that alcohol-involved suicide attempts are characterized by lower premeditation and intent, but only when the use of alcohol is not motivated by the desire to facilitate the attempt. Test of this idea was conducted by comparing proximal suicide premeditation and intent of suicide attempts among three groups: individuals who (a) drank to facilitate the attempt (e.g., to "numb fears" about attempting), (b) drank for nonfacilitative motives, and (c) did not use alcohol before the attempt.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants included 324 (62% female) recent suicide attempters presenting to a Level 1 trauma hospital. The Timeline Followback Interview for Suicide Attempts and a novel Suicide Facilitative Drinking Motives Scale were used to assess facilitative motives for drinking and characteristics of the attempt.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One third of participants drank before the attempt, and most (73%) who used alcohol did not do so to facilitate the attempt. As hypothesized, attempts carried out by this group had shorter proximal suicide premeditation and lower suicide intent compared with the other study groups; in contrast, individuals who drank to facilitate the attempt were similar to non-alcohol users on these indices.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Alcohol-involved suicide attempts are heterogeneous. Motives for drinking are a key source of heterogeneity insofar as fundamental characteristics of attempts (proximal premeditation, intent) differ as a function of drinking motivation. Clinical implications include that individuals making suicide attempts with facilitative motives for drinking cannot be assumed to be at lowered risk upon a drop in blood alcohol level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi.
authors.forename: Courtney L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Bagge
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York.|VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Canandaigua, New York.
authors.forename: Kenneth R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Conner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi.
authors.forename: Louren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reed
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi.
authors.forename: Milton
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dawkins
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Murray
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013406:Suicide, Attempted; D055815:Young Adult