Classification of suicide attempters by cluster analysis: A study of the temperamental heterogeneity in suicidal patients

As several studies have associated various temperament dimensions with suicidality when comparing suicide attempters with non-attempters, the purpose of the present study was to focus on the temperamental heterogeneity, and to identify sub-groups of suicide attempters with specific temperament profiles. The Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP) and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire together with the IVE-Impulsiveness scale (EPQ-I) were administered in a sample of 215 attempters aged 18-81 years, and cluster analysis procedures were performed with the KSP scales as clustering variables. The subjects were allocated into six mutually exclusive clusters with different temperament profiles. The EPQ-I was used in the attempts to validate and to further describe the cluster solution. Most of the clusters showed low Socialization scores and high scores on scales measuring trait Anxiety. We identified a subgroup with an extreme temperament profile scoring high on scales measuring trait Anxiety, Impulsiveness, Aggressivity, and on scales related to Psychoticism. We also identified an introverted and detached subgroup with high scores on Detachment (low Extraversion) and high trait Anxiety. A large sub-group showed no personality pathology in the sense thai they had normal scores on all scales. Our results clearly indicate that suicide attempters are temperamentally heterogenous group, and that there are several different suicidal personalities. The temperamental heterogeneity of clinical importance and is worth further study. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.