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A Typology of Parasuicide

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

A. S. Henderson ,
J. Hartigan ,
J. Davidson ,
G. N. Lance ,
P. Duncan-Jones ,
K. M. Koller ,
Karen Ritchie ,
Helen Mcauley ,
C. L. Williams  and
W. Slaghuis
A. S. Henderson
Affiliation:
National Health and Medical Research Council, Social Psychiatry Research Unity The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
J. Hartigan
Affiliation:
Yale University, New Haven, Conn
J. Davidson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania
G. N. Lance
Affiliation:
Division of Computing Research, CSIRO, Canberra
P. Duncan-Jones
Affiliation:
National Health and Medical Research Council, Social Psychiatry Research Unit, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
K. M. Koller
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania
Karen Ritchie
Affiliation:
National Health and Medical Research Council, Social Psychiatry Research Unit, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
Helen Mcauley
Affiliation:
National Health and Medical Research Council, Social Psychiatry Research Unit, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
C. L. Williams
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania
W. Slaghuis
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania
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Extract

Parasuicide is not a single syndrome. Subtypes at present recognized are based largely on clinically derived stereotypes. When considering a series of patients, the clinician is unable to handle more than a few attributes at a time. This paper describes the application of three very different clustering algorithms to a material of 350 treated parasuicide patients. Mathematically, three types emerge. Clinically, two of these are interpretable and make sense. The types established are: I (n = 107) a group not characterized by any of the variables we examined; this group is a puzzle, mainly because the reasons for the parasuicidal act are not clear. II (n = 132) a depressed, alienated group with high life-endangerment. III (n = 111) a group whose act was highly operant: they felt alienated and were angry with others. These groups did not differ significantly on demographic variables. The usefulness of this typology, particularly for management, after-care and prevention, has now to be assessed.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 131 , Issue 6 , December 1977 , pp. 631 - 641
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1977 

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