Social Support in Depressed Patients Who Attempted Suicide
Siriluck Suppapitiporn MD, MSc*, Nuntika Thavichachart MD, MSc*, Suchat Suppapitiporn MD**
Affiliation : * Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University ** Department of Out Patient, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital
Objectives : To identify the level of perceived social support in depressed patients who attempted suicide and to determine
whether perceived social support is associated with suicidal attempt in depressed patients
Materials and Methods : The sample consisted of 90 patients who presented with suicidal attempt and had clinical depression
and 90 depressed patients who had never attempted suicide. The subjects were clinically assessed for depression,availability
of social support and their satisfaction, number of friends and consultants and family history. Subjects were recruited at
King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital from July 2000 to June 2002.
Results : The depressed patients who attempted suicide had lower mean scores in all areas of perceived social support and
reported having fewer friends and consultants than those without suicidal attempt. They also had a higher rate of financial
problems, substance abuse and family history of alcohol or substance use disorder. The scores for severity of depression
and level of perceived social support were negatively correlated with statistical significance.
Conclusion : Depressed patients who attempted suicide were more likely to report fewer of friends and a lower levelof
social support. Assessment of patient’s support network as well as their perception of available social support should be
included in the evaluation of depressed patients particularly in those with substance use disorder and intervention to
prevent suicide should focus more on increasing their capacity to obtain social resources and modulating their perception.
Keywords : Social support, Suicidal attempt, Depressed patient
