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Suicidal Ideation, Self-Harm And Attempted Suicide: Results From The British Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2000

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

P.E. Bebbington ,
S. Minot ,
C. Cooper ,
M. Dennis ,
H. Meltzer ,
R. Jenkins  and
T. Brugha
P.E. Bebbington*
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health Sciences UCL, 67-73, Riding House Street, 2nd Floor, Charles Bell House, LondonW1W 7EJ, UK
S. Minot
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health Sciences UCL, 67-73, Riding House Street, 2nd Floor, Charles Bell House, LondonW1W 7EJ, UK
C. Cooper
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health Sciences UCL, 67-73, Riding House Street, 2nd Floor, Charles Bell House, LondonW1W 7EJ, UK
M. Dennis
Affiliation:
School of Medicine, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, UK
H. Meltzer
Affiliation:
Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, UK
R. Jenkins
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, London, UK
T. Brugha
Affiliation:
Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 0 20 7679 9465; fax: +44 0 20 7679 9426. E-mail address: P.Bebbington@ucl.ac.uk (P.E. Bebbington).
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Abstract

Purpose

To examine relationships between suicidal ideation, self-harm, and suicide attempts, including the timing of the phenomena.

Subjects and methods

The British National Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (NPMS) 2000, a randomised cross-sectional survey of the British population (n = 8,580), included detailed questions about suicidal phenomena.

Results

Suicidal phenomena were common in the survey population: a fifth had experienced tedium vitae, and nearly one in six had had death wishes or considered suicide. 4.4% of the study population had attempted suicide at some time. The relationships between individual elements of suicidality, though not absolute, were strong. The relationships tended to be hierarchical. The results suggested that suicidal thinking represents a strong indicator of vulnerability to suicidal acts, less so to self-harm. Although suicidal phenomena were more common in women, the relationship of the different elements were not affected by gender.

Discussion

Studies in non clinical populations allow full appreciation of the nature and burden of suicidality. The topic of suicide is sensitive, so there may have been under-reporting, although the level of missing data was around 0.1%. Nevertheless, the sample was large and closely representative of the whole British populace.

Conclusions

Suicidality is common in the British population. The strong relationships between elements of suicidality are clinically important.

Keywords

SuicideDeliberate self-harmSuicidal ideationEpidemiologySurvey
Type
Suicidology
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 25 , Issue 7 , November 2010 , pp. 427 - 431
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier Masson SAS 2019

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