This volume resulted from the First European Symposium on Em­ pirical Research into Suicidal Behavior. The symposium was initi­ ated by the Study Group on Suicidal Behavior (Arbeitsgemein­ schaft zur Erforschung suizidalen V erhaltens) in collaboration with the German Society for the Prevention of Suicide (Deutsche Ge­ sellschaft fUr Selbstmordverhutung). The local organization of this symposium, which took place in Munich, was performed by the staff of the Psychiatric Department of the University of Technol­ ogy, Munich (Head: Prof. H. Lauter). This volume contains contributions held at the symposium as well as papers especially prepared for this book. It thus fulfills the aim of providing an overview of the current state of research in the field of empirical suicidology with respect to epidemiology, bio­ logical and psychological risk factors, follow-up, and treatment evaluation. We are grateful to all who contributed to this book by submitting papers or making critical comments. We would especially like to thank Mrs. D. Keck for her valuable cooperation. We have to thank the following pharmaceutical companies for financial support: Organon (Munchen), Ciba Geigy (Frankfurt), Tropon (Kaln), Galenus (Mannheim), Wander (Nurnberg).

InhaltsangabeI Epidemiology and Sociodemographic and Psychiatric Background Variables of Suicidal Behavior.- Suicide Trends in 24 European Countries, 1972-1984.- Frequencies and Trends in Attempted Suicide in the Federal Republic of Germany: A Methodological Study.- Estimation of Suicidal Behavior in Representative Epidemiologic Studies.- Birth Cohort Analysis of Suicide Mortality in Sweden.- Epidemiology of Suicide Events in a Hungarian County.- Psychiatric Aspects of Suicide in Budapest.- Deliberate Overdosage in a Hospital Catchment Area: Preliminary Results of a 7-Year Study.- Self-inflicted Death (1971-1985): Preliminary Results of a 15-Year Survey in an Inner City Area on the Incidence and Methods Employed.- Suicidal Poisonings Caused by Pesticides in Voivodina (Yugoslavia) During 1960-1984.- Age-Related Differences in Patients Who Attempt Suicide.- Suicides Among Psychiatric Patients in Funen (Denmark).- Increasing Suicide Rate in Scandinavian Psychiatric Hospitals.- Suicide in Psychiatric Hospitals: Selected Results of a Study on Suicides Committed During Treatment in Five Psychiatric Hospitals in Southern Germany with Special Regard to Therapy Success and Presuicidal Symptoms.- Suicides Among Patients Treated in a Ward Specializing in Affective Disorders.- Types of Clinical Suicide.- Empirical Evaluation Studies Concerning Completed Suicide and Addiction.- II Course and Prediction of Suicidal Behavior.- Catamnestic Studies on Patients Who Attempted Suicide: An Overview.- Sociopsychological Adjustment and Family History of Depressives with and without a Suicide Attempt.- Psychopathological Course of Depressives with and without a Suicide Attempt.- Preliminary Results of a Study Concerning the Evaluation and Evolution of Patients Having Attempted to Commit Suicide.- A Follow-up Study 1 Year After Attempted Suicide: A Comparison Between Individuals Younger and Older Than 55 Years.- Three-Year Follow-up of 150 Inpatients After a Suicide Attempt by Drug Overdose.- Survey and Follow-up of Patients Admitted to Innsbruck University Hospital for Attempted Suicide in 1983.- Changes in Hopelessness and Dissimulation Tendencies in Patients After a Suicide Attempt.- Validation of Six Risk Scales for Suicide Attempters.- A Simple Method to Predict Crises After Suicide Attempts (Parasuicides).- Estimating Suicide Risk Among Inpatients Treated for Depressive Disorders.- Clinical Prediction of Suicidal Behavior Among High-Risk Suicide Attempters.- Typology of Persons Who Attempted Suicide with Predictive Value for Repetition: A Prospective Cohort Study.- Path Analytical Models for Predicting Suicide Risk.- A Computer Program for Exploring Depressive Patients with Suicidal Thoughts.- III Biological Factors of Suicidal Behavior.- Biological Correlates of Suicidal Behavior.- Postmortem Neurochemical Investigation of Suicide.- Corticotropin-Releasing Factor in Depression and Suicide.- Measurements of Biogenic Amines and Metabolites in the CSF of Suicide Victims and Nonsuicides.- Plasma Amino Acids and Suicidal Behavior: An Investigation of Different Groups of Patients Who Attempted to Commit Suicide.- Review of Imipramine Binding in Platelets from Psychiatric Patients: Its Relevance to the Biology of Suicide.- IV Psychosocial Factors of Suicidal Behavior.- Broken Home and Suicidal Behavior: Methodological Problems.- "Broken-Home"-Related Data from Patients Following an Attempted Suicide: Comparison with Data from Psychiatric and Nonpsychiatric Patients.- Life Events, Current Social Stressors, and Risk of Attempted Suicide.- Recent Life Events and Suicide Attempts.- A Description of Behavioral Patterns of Coping with Life Events in Suicidal Patients.- Social Support and Suicidal Behavior.- Description and Prognostic Value of Standardized Procedures for Determining Remarkable Personality Traits in Patients Following a Suicide Attempt.- Imitation Effects After Fictional Television Suicides.- Background Factors of Parasuicide in Denmark.- Suicide and Une