The main objective of the present study was to enrich our understanding regarding the role of personality traits in the explanation of suicidal ideation among psychiatric patients. It employed Cloniger's Tridimensional Personality Theory in order to draw a personality profile that predicts suicidal ideation among this population. A total of 172 psychiatric outpatients participated in the study. Subjects were randomly selected from a psychiatric clinic in northern Israel. All subjects were evaluated individually with three measures: the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (Cloninger, 1987; TPQ); the Beck Suicide Inventory (Beck, Steer, Handerson,&Skeie, 1991; BSI); and the Structured Clinical Interview for Axis I DSM-IV Disorders (SCID; First, Spitzer, Gibbon,&Williams, 1994). Data analysis was conducted using the Linear Structural Relations (LISREL VI) program. The findings of the present study indicate that among psychiatric patients, suicidal ideation can be explained by the combination of five personality traits: impulsiveness, stoic rigidity, confidence, disorderliness, and, indirectly, pessimism through confidence and rigidity.
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