Citation

Krausz M, Degkwitz P, Haasen C, Verthein U. Crisis 1996; 17(4): 175-181.

Affiliation

Psychiatric Clinic, University Hospital Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. haasen@uke.uni-hamburg.de

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, International Association for Suicide Prevention, Publisher Hogrefe Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9018906

Abstract

The prevalence of suicide attempts among opioid addicts is reported to lie between 8% and 17%, with some studies reporting an even higher rate among special groups of addicts. Yet there is insufficient knowledge about which addicts have a higher risk of suicide and which other factors seem to be involved in the constellation leading to the suicide attempt; the study of different subgroups of addicts is thus necessary. This paper reports a study on suicide attempts among a sample population in a detoxification unit and another group undergoing codeine maintenance treatment. There was a high rate of suicide attempts among both groups (23% of those in the detoxification unit and 28% of those maintained on codeine), but treating physicians tended to underestimate suicidality. The results lead to the conclusion that among a subgroup of addicts suicidality plays a larger role; a greater emphasis should thus be placed on the underlying psychopathology and the treatment needed.

Language: en