Parental Loss and Family Stability in Attempted Suicide

Ninety-eight persons who had attempted suicide were compared wih 102 matched controls for the incidence of parental loss and family stability before the age of 25 years. Parental loss was significantly more common in the attempted suicides than in the controls, especially death of the father and divorce or separation of parents, reaching peaks during the age periods of 0 to 5 years and 17 to 20 years. The women within this group had experienced significantly more loss from parental death than did the men. Among attempted suicides, there was also a high incidence of family instability, whether or not a loss had occurred. The degree of instability, however, was significantly less among those from intact homes. Suicidal ideation was strongly correlated with family instability in both groups.