Family Interaction Patterns and Dysfunction Analysis in Suicide Attempters

The literature on suicide reveals that this phenomenon has been frequently investigated in several specific groups such as the elderly, adolescents, substance abusers, the terminally ill, and other clinical populations. While literature on suicidology has been forthcoming in the international media, sufficient exploration has not occurred in the Indian context. The present study was conducted with a group of 50 suicide attempters admitted to a private psychiatric facility in India following a failed suicide attempt. Instruments to assess their family interaction pattern as well as the extent of dysfunction experienced in several domains were administered, besides studying their suicidal intent and the stressful life events faced. Poor family interaction pattern, particularly
with regard to cohesion and leadership were observed. Dysfunction was high
across all domains. The analysis was also based on gender and comparison of marital status. It was observed that while female respondents reported better family interaction, their dysfunction levels were higher than that for men. Unmarried respondents reported better family interaction, while the married respondents experienced greater dysfunction. The implications for therapeutic intervention have also been discussed.