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Life Stress, Medical Lethality, and Suicidal Intent

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

K. G. Power ,
D. J. Cooke  and
D. N. Brooks
K. G. Power*
Affiliation:
Community Clinical Psychology Service, Department of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA
D. J. Cooke
Affiliation:
Douglas Inch Centre, 2 Woodside Terrace, Glasgow G3 7UY
D. N. Brooks
Affiliation:
Glasgow University Department of Psychological Medicine, 6 Whittinghame Gardens, Glasgow G12 OA A
*
∗Correspondence
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Abstract

Eighty parasuicide patients were studied. The importance of life stress, age, and General Health Questionnaire score as predictors of the suicidal intent and medical lethality which they exhibited was examined. Medical lethality and suicidal intent were closely related: those whose parasuicide resulted in high lethality differed from those showing low lethality in their degree of suicidal intent, but did not differ in life stress, age, or GHQ score. Although both life stress and GHQ score were significantly correlated with suicidal intent, the GHQ score accounted for a greater proportion of the variance. These results suggest a more complex relationship between life stress, GHQ score, and suicidal intent than is often assumed.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 147 , Issue 6 , December 1985 , pp. 655 - 659
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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