Psychiatric Hospital of Attica "Dafni", Athens, Greece.
2nd Department of Psychiatry, Athens University Medical School, "Attikon" General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Psychiatry Investig. 2015 Apr;12(2):212-7. doi: 10.4306/pi.2015.12.2.212. Epub 2015 Jan 20.
To study the characteristics of a sample of suicide victims from the Athens Greater Area using the psychological autopsy method for the first time in Greece.
We studied all recorded cases of completed suicide for the 2-year time period November 2007-October 2009 collecting data from the victims' forensic records as well as from the completion of a psychological autopsy questionnaire.
335 persons were recorded as suicide victims. We contacted relatives of 256 victims interviewing those of 248 of them (96.9%). The differences regarding sex, marital and employment status between our sample and the general population were statistically significant (p<0.001). The male/female ratio was 3:1. Comparatively more victims were divorced, separated or single and a greater proportion were pensioners or unemployed. 26.0% of the victims had history of prior attempts (64.4% once, 20.3% twice and 15.3% more times). 42.6% were taking psychiatric medication-significantly more women than men according to blood tests; 14.2% had been hospitalized in a psychiatric clinic the year prior to their death. 84.8% have deceased at the place of suicide and 15.2% died in the hospital; 80.3% died indoors and 19.7% outdoors. Men died primarily by hanging or shooting by a firearm while women preferred jumping from height instead (p<0.001). As many as 48.8% had expressed their intention to die to their relatives; 26.6% left a suicide note.
Our study has shown that the psychological autopsy method is applicable and widely accepted yielding results comparable to the international literature. Specific parameters associated with suicide have been studied for the first time in Greece.
首次在希腊使用心理剖检方法研究雅典大都市区自杀受害者样本的特征。
我们研究了 2007 年 11 月至 2009 年 10 月期间的所有记录在案的自杀案例，从受害者的法医记录以及心理剖检问卷的完成情况中收集数据。
记录了 335 名自杀受害者。我们联系了 256 名受害者的亲属，对其中 248 名（96.9%）进行了采访。我们的样本与一般人群在性别、婚姻和就业状况方面的差异具有统计学意义（p<0.001）。男女比例为 3:1。相比之下，更多的受害者是离婚、分居或单身，更大比例的人是退休人员或失业者。26.0%的受害者有自杀未遂史（64.4%的人只尝试过一次，20.3%的人尝试过两次，15.3%的人尝试过更多次）。42.6%的人正在服用精神药物——根据血液检测，女性明显多于男性；14.2%的人在死前一年曾在精神病诊所住院。84.8%的人在自杀地点死亡，15.2%的人在医院死亡；80.3%的人在室内死亡，19.7%的人在室外死亡。男性主要死于上吊或被枪支射击，而女性则更喜欢从高处跳下（p<0.001）。多达 48.8%的人向亲属表达了想死的意愿；26.6%的人留下了自杀遗言。
我们的研究表明，心理剖检方法是适用的，并且被广泛接受，得出的结果与国际文献相当。首次在希腊研究了与自杀相关的特定参数。
