Characterization of schizophrenic patients who commit suicide.

Twenty schizophrenic patients who committed suicide were compared with a randomly selected group and a sex-matched group of nonsuicidal schizophrenic patients and with a group of nonschizophrenic patients who committed suicide. The schizophrenic patients who committed suicide were more often men, and tended to be young, never married, non-Protestant, and white. They failed to communicate their suicidal intent directly, used highly lethal suicide methods, and tended not to have undergone stressful life events associated with their suicides. A thorough, case-by-case clinical assessment of potential suicidal ideation is essential with schizophrenic patients.