The Risk of Suicide and an Attempt at its Diagnosis

Abstract

The paper presents Silberg’s and Armstrong’s Index of Suicidal Behaviours for Adolescents (1992) in the light of contemporary researches by way of Rorschach method used to assess the risk of suicide. Erwin Ringel’s theory of the presuicidal syndrome was used as a background for Rorschach suicidal indices. The theory takes the presuicidal state in a psychodynamic way in the following aspects: situational limitation, dynamic limitation, social contacts and the world of value, with accompanied strong suicidal fantasies, impulsiveness and self-aggression. The following indices have been obtained: FV + VF + V > 0; light-and-shade colours >1; MOR > 0; M. -> 1; CF + C > FC and special signatures >9 differentiate on the basis of four out of six characteristics 75% of subjects after suicidal attempts from the remaining persons and depressive patients. The result was obtained on the basis of statistic analysis by x-square test at the level p.<0.005. This analysis allows us to state that the Rorschach Index of Suicidal Behaviours for Adolescents to a great extent corresponds with Ringel’s theory and serves to empirically define the potentiality of suicidal threat, when the assessment of the patient’s clinical image becomes insufficient.