Abstract
Suicides at five state hospitals for the mentally-ill located in NYC were studied over a 32 month period. The suicide rates at the individual hospitals appeared to be primarily related to the acuteness of inpatient population and secondarily to the socioeconomic-ethnic characteristics of the inpatient population. White young Puerto Rican male, better educated female involuntarily committed, schizophrenic, and affective disordered patients were overrepresented in the suicide group; black patients were underrepresented. From clinical data two profiles of psychiatric inpatients at high risk for suicide were constructed; 1) a male paranoid schizophrenic with previous suicide attempts involuntarily committed due to acute psychosis who hangs himself in his room or bathroom during the first weeks of hospitalization; 2) a chronic undifferentiated schizophrenic often with affective component who has been hospitalized for more than one month and who is considered by staff to be improving, but is having difficulty with discharge planning who commits suicide by jumping while out of the hospital on an authorized pass. Recommendations were made for reducing inpatient suicides.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Temoche A, Pugh TF, MacMahon B: Suicide rates among current and former mental institution patients.J Nerv Ment Dis 138:124–130, 1964.
Levy S, Southcombe RH: Suicide in a state hospital for the mentally ill.J Nerv Ment Dis 117:504–514, 1953.
Faberow NF, Ganzler S, Cutter F, Reynolds D: An eight-year survey of hospital suicides.Life-Threatening Behavior 1:184–202, 1971.
Schwartz DA, Flinn DE, Slawson PF: Suicide in the psychiatric hospital.Am J Psychiatry 132:150–153, 1975.
Achte KA, Stenback, A, Teravainen H: On suicides committed during treatment in psychiatric hospitals.Acta Psychiatr Scand 42:272–284, 1966.
Chapman RF: Suicide during psychiatric hospitalization.Bull Menninger Clinic 29:35–44, 1965.
Sletten IW, Brown ML, Evenson RC, Altman H: Suicide in mental hospital patients.Dis Nerv Syst 33:328–334, 1972.
Babigian HM: Multiple aspects of suicide.J Forensic Sci 19:267–275, 1974.
Vollen KH, Watson CG: Suicide in relation to time of day and day of week.Am J Nursing 75:263, 1975.
Neill K, Benenson HS, Farber AN, Resnick HL: The psychological autopsy: A technique for investigating a hospital suicide.Hosp Community Psychiatry 25:33–36, 1974.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gale, S.W., Mesnikoff, A., Fine, J. et al. A study of suicide in state mental hospitals in New York city. Psych Quart 52, 201–213 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01071737
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01071737