Post‐diction of suicide in a group of depressive patients

Abstract

Prediction of suicides was made on the basis of 99 psychiatric patients included in a study of anti-depressive therapy during 1961-63. These patients were followed up until 31 December 1984. Eight of them committed suicide. The prediction was based on two test methods, the Serial Colour-Word Test (CWT), which registers style of adaptation to a conflicting situation, and the Meta-Contrast Technique (MCT), where incongruous or threatening stimulation is introduced by degrees into neutral pictures and various defensive misrepresentations of the threat are spotted. Both tests could predict suicide, but MCT was most successful. The sensitivity of the test was 0.80 and the specificity 0.75. The main risk symptom appeared to be depressive retardation together with lack of functional defensive structures.