[Mental or physical disorders of people who committed suicide in penitentiary institutions in Poland in the years 1995-1997]

Abstract

The study proves that mental disorders (mainly depression) rank among the main motives of suicidal behaviors, which are triggered by, for example, disadvantageous social factors. In the material under study, 27,7% of the inmates were treated at a mental ward and as many as 31,07% constituted the patients of Outpatient Mental Health Clinic. Hence, the high percentage--a total of 58,4% of mentally disturbed individuals--constituted the group at an increased risk of autoaggressive reactions. The percentage of individuals outside the psychiatric treatment amounted to 41,6%, this being the people who, in spite of deviations from the mental norm, failed to visit or did not deem it necessary to consult the mental health clinic. In the ICD-10 classification of mental disorders, the most numerous group among the inmates who committed 3a fatal suicidal attempt included individuals with behavior and personality disorders (F60-F69). These constituted 55.9% of the total number of suicides. The less numerous group (26.7%) consisted of the inmates with mental disorders and behavior deviations caused by psychoactive substances (F10-F19). The third group of suicides (13.9%) included individuals with organic mental disorders, including symptomatic syndromes (F00-F09). These three groups accounted for 96.1% of the total number of suicides.