Abstract
Aims: To assess whether specific epidemiological, sociodemographic or circumstantial characteristics differ between individuals reported missing and those not reported missing who take their own life.
Method: Content analysis of Scottish Police Death Reports, detailing 160 suicides/undetermined deaths over a 3-year period in the North-East of Scotland.
Results:Those in the missing-suicide group were more likely to be older but did not differ from the other-suicide group on any other epidemiological or sociodemographic characteristics. Individuals in the other-suicide group were more likely to be found inadvertently by people known to them. The missing-suicide group took longer to find and were more likely to be located in natural outdoor locations by police/searchers or members of the public.
Conclusions: Individuals who die by suicide and who are reported as a missing person differ from those not reported as missing in terms of factors relating to location and how they are found but not epidemiological or sociodemographic characteristics.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e16 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | BJPsych Open |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 29 Jan 2019 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 29 Jan 2019 |
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Distinguishing suicides of persons reported missing from those not reported missing : a retrospective Scottish cohort study. / Woolnough, Penny; Magar, Emily; Gibb, Graham.
In: BJPsych Open, Vol. 5, No. 1, e16, 29.01.2019.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Distinguishing suicides of persons reported missing from those not reported missing
T2 - a retrospective Scottish cohort study
AU - Woolnough, Penny
AU - Magar, Emily
AU - Gibb, Graham
PY - 2019/1/29
Y1 - 2019/1/29
N2 - Background: Understanding what distinguishes the suicide of individuals reported missing (missing-suicides) from those of individuals not reported missing (other-suicides) may have preventative and/or operational utility and inform our knowledge of suicide.Aims: To assess whether specific epidemiological, sociodemographic or circumstantial characteristics differ between individuals reported missing and those not reported missing who take their own life.Method: Content analysis of Scottish Police Death Reports, detailing 160 suicides/undetermined deaths over a 3-year period in the North-East of Scotland.Results:Those in the missing-suicide group were more likely to be older but did not differ from the other-suicide group on any other epidemiological or sociodemographic characteristics. Individuals in the other-suicide group were more likely to be found inadvertently by people known to them. The missing-suicide group took longer to find and were more likely to be located in natural outdoor locations by police/searchers or members of the public.Conclusions: Individuals who die by suicide and who are reported as a missing person differ from those not reported as missing in terms of factors relating to location and how they are found but not epidemiological or sociodemographic characteristics.
AB - Background: Understanding what distinguishes the suicide of individuals reported missing (missing-suicides) from those of individuals not reported missing (other-suicides) may have preventative and/or operational utility and inform our knowledge of suicide.Aims: To assess whether specific epidemiological, sociodemographic or circumstantial characteristics differ between individuals reported missing and those not reported missing who take their own life.Method: Content analysis of Scottish Police Death Reports, detailing 160 suicides/undetermined deaths over a 3-year period in the North-East of Scotland.Results:Those in the missing-suicide group were more likely to be older but did not differ from the other-suicide group on any other epidemiological or sociodemographic characteristics. Individuals in the other-suicide group were more likely to be found inadvertently by people known to them. The missing-suicide group took longer to find and were more likely to be located in natural outdoor locations by police/searchers or members of the public.Conclusions: Individuals who die by suicide and who are reported as a missing person differ from those not reported as missing in terms of factors relating to location and how they are found but not epidemiological or sociodemographic characteristics.
U2 - 10.1192/bjo.2018.82
DO - 10.1192/bjo.2018.82
M3 - Article
VL - 5
JO - BJPsych Open
JF - BJPsych Open
SN - 2056-4724
IS - 1
M1 - e16
ER -