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from the 10-out-of-10-who-succeed-at-suicide-will-not-attempt-it-again dept.
Nine out of ten people who attempt suicide and survive will not go on to die by suicide at a later date. This has been well-established in the suicidology literature. A literature review summarized 90 studies that have followed over time people who have made suicide attempts that resulted in medical care. Approximately 7% (range: 5-11%) of attempters eventually died by suicide, approximately 23% reattempted nonfatally, and 70% had no further attempts.
Even studies that focused on medically serious attempts–such as people who jumped in front of a train–and studies that followed attempters for many decades found similarly low suicide completion rates. At least one study, published after the 90-study review, found a slightly higher completion rate. This was a 37-year follow-up of self-poisoners in Finland that found an eventual completion rate of 13%.
This relatively good long-term survival rate is consistent with the observation that suicidal crises are often short-lived, even if there may be underylying, more chronic risk factors present that give rise to these crises.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Monday July 29 2019, @01:40PM
I didn't realize that was a common myth. I seem to recall the common wisdom being that a failed suicide attempt gives people a renewed appreciation for life - much like any other close brush with death. Secondary emotional traumas may result, but a desire to die seems to usually be cured by a visit to death's doorstep.