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Differences among South Tyrolean suicides: a psychological autopsy study

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Summary

Objective

The aim of the present study was to study gender differences in the suicides in South Tyrol.

Methods

Between 2000 and 2009, the Department of Psychiatry of Bolzano administered questionnaires to the Provincial Departments of Public Health requesting information about causes and methods of completed suicides. Each suicide was then examined using a psychological autopsy methodology.

Results

There were 448 suicides studied (339 men and 109 women). Compared with men, women were more likely to live alone, have attempted suicide in the past, and to have contacted their general practitioners in the last weeks before dying. They were also less likely to have an alcohol use disorder, have used violent methods of suicide, and be 35 years or younger.

Conclusion

The differences identified for South Tyrolean suicides confirmed previously reported gender differences in employment and marital status, history of a previous suicide attempt, and alcohol abuse. Appropriate gender-based preventive interventions are needed.

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Conflict of interest

G. Giupponi, A. Conca, M. Innamorati, A. Forte, D. Lester, D. Erbuto, R. Pycha, P. Girardi, A. M. Möller-Leimkühler, M. Pompili declare that there are no actual or potential conflicts of inerest in relation to this article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Bolzano, Italy

    Giancarlo Giupponi & Andreas Conca

  2. Università Europea di Roma, Rome, Italy

    Marco Innamorati

  3. Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, 1035-1039 Via di Grottarossa, 00189, Rome, Italy

    Alberto Forte, Denise Erbuto, Paolo Girardi & Maurizio Pompili MD, PhD

  4. The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, New Jersey, USA

    David Lester

  5. Department of Psychiatry, Brunico, Italy

    Roger Pycha

  6. Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Munich, Germany

    Anne Maria Möller-Leimkühler

Authors
  1. Giancarlo Giupponi
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  2. Andreas Conca
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  3. Marco Innamorati
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  4. Alberto Forte
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  5. David Lester
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  6. Denise Erbuto
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  7. Roger Pycha
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  8. Paolo Girardi
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  9. Anne Maria Möller-Leimkühler
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  10. Maurizio Pompili MD, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maurizio Pompili MD, PhD.

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Giupponi, G., Conca, A., Innamorati, M. et al. Differences among South Tyrolean suicides: a psychological autopsy study. Wien Klin Wochenschr 128, 125–130 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00508-015-0877-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00508-015-0877-5

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