`Suicidal Behaviour' in New South Wales

¹ Senior Research Officer, Department of Youth and Community Services, Sydney, N.S.W. 2000, Australia

In a study of 17,605 suicidal acts recorded in New South Wales during a six-year period, chronological age was correlated negatively with rates of such acts and positively with their fatal outcome. Age was also positively correlated with change of means used in suicide attempts, from soporifics and analgesics to `active' and violent methods. There were significant differences between males and females in the use of various means, but analgesic and soporific substances were used most often by both. It is argued that the findings confirm that `suicidal behaviour' is a continuous variable, and indicate a changing reaction to stress with increasing age.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Tousignant and B. L. Mishara Suicide and Culture: A Review of the Literature (1969-1980) Transcultural Psychiatry, January 1, 1981; 18(1): 5 - 32. [PDF]