Abstract
Objective
Our study examined the characteristics of individuals who survived attempted hanging and compared this group to a randomly selected comparison group of patients with non-fatal self-poisoning.
Method
Non-fatal hanging cases were identified from case files from an Australian public hospital. They were matched by age, sex, and month of presentation with double the number of non-fatal self-poisoning cases. Patients were compared on demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as length of stay in hospital and discharge plan.
Results
Most non-fatal hanging patients were males with medium suicidal intent, and a significant proportion misused alcohol. In this group, women were more likely than men to have past psychiatric care, and men were more likely to misuse alcohol and stimulants. In comparison to the self-poisoning group, the non-fatal hanging group had higher suicidal intent but proportionally lower history of self-harm and psychiatric care, or benzodiazepine misuse.
Conclusion
People who self-harm by hanging have higher suicidal intent, misuse alcohol more often, and are less likely to be in psychiatric care. They may benefit from a general community intervention, rather than one based upon interventions with people already in psychiatric care.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.