Components of suicidal intent in completed and attempted suicides.

An objective suicidal intent scale was completed for 235 completed suicides and 246 attempted suicides in Philadelphia. The responses to the items of the suicidal intent scale were factor analyzed separately for the two groups, and the pattern of factors compared. The major difference centered around communication. For the completed suicide the decision appears to be whether or not to communicate; for the attempted suicide the decision appears to be when to communicate.