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Emotional and intellectual correlates of unsuccessful suicide attempts in people with epilepsy
Author(s) -
Batzel Lawrence W.,
Dodrill Carl B.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/1097-4679(198609)42:5<699::aid-jclp2270420503>3.0.co;2-9
Subject(s) - psychology , epilepsy , psychosocial , minnesota multiphasic personality inventory , anxiety , psychiatry , clinical psychology , suicide attempt , suicide prevention , poison control , personality , medical emergency , medicine , social psychology
This study evaluated the emotional and intellectual correlates of unsuccessful suicide attempts in persons with seizure disorders. Psychosocial evaluations were completed on 198 adults with epilepsy, of whom 32 had made one or more suicide attempts. The MMPI demonstrated increased anxiety and decreased ego strength among those with histories of suicide attempts in comparison to those without such a history. Intellectual abilities as evaluated by the WAIS were slightly lower among the suicide attempters, especially on language‐related tasks. Unsuccessful suicidal behavior in epilepsy is probably the product of multiple conditions and circumstances, including seizures themselves, decreased adaptive abilities, increased emotional problems, and the continual availability of agents (antiepileptic medications) with which a suicide attempt may be undertaken.