The Association between Neuroticism and Re-Attempted Suicide

Background: Strong evidence suggests that suicide attempters who repeat
suicide (re-attempters) may differ from those with a single attempt (single
attempters) in various clinical and sociodemographic factors. Furthermore, there
is some evidence that re-attempters may be characterized by higher levels of
neuroticism, a well-known risk factor for completed suicide compared to single
attempters.
Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible
association between neuroticism and re-attempted suicide.
Methods and Materials: 230 recent drug-free suicide attempters were
involved into the study. Clinical diagnoses were assessed by the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition-Revised (DSM-III-R).
Personality traits were measured by the Karolinska Scale of Personality (KSP).
Results and Conclusions: There was a significant association between
re-attempted suicide, female gender, personality disorder and higher levels
of impulsivity. We found that re-attempters had significantly higher levels of
neuroticism compared to single attempters adjusted of gender, personality
disorder diagnosis, age and impulsivity. Our result gives further evidence for the
association between re-attempted suicide and neuroticism.