NCJ Number
219263
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 52 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2007 Pages: 930-937
Date Published
July 2007
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This report presents the results of a 10-year (1993-2002) retrospective review of Kentucky medical examiners' cases ruled as suicides that involved victims diagnosed as schizophrenic.
Abstract
Although approximately 10-13 percent of individuals with schizophrenia commit suicide according to international studies, only 1.0 percent of the total number of suicides examined at the Medical Examiners' Offices in Kentucky between 1993 and 2002 had been clinically diagnosed with schizophrenia pursuant to the coroner's investigation. Twenty-nine victims were between the ages of 20 and 75 (mean age of 41.6 years). The majority of victims were male (62.1 percent) and Caucasian (86.2 percent. The study shows the overwhelming use of a firearm by both male and female schizophrenic individuals to commit suicide in Kentucky (48.3 percent), followed by overdose (20.7 percent) and hanging (13.8 percent). The prevention of suicide among schizophrenics as a public health issue warrants a multidisciplinary approach in order to encourage medication compliance and supportive psychotherapy, as well as to identify suicidal behavior in a timely manner. Intensive monitoring of schizophrenic individuals is critical, particularly in the period immediately following release from a psychiatric hospitalization. Also, further investigation is warranted in order to assess a schizophrenic's ability to access firearms. 1 figure, 4 tables, and 41 references