Help negation after acute suicidal crisis.

This study represents one of the first efforts to empirically differentiate between suicidal patients who complete treatment and those who voluntarily withdraw after resolution of the immediate crisis and, accordingly, before formally beginning treatment or within the first 2 days. Participants were contrasted across a range of variables, including suicide ideation, depression, hopelessness, problem solving, life stress, diagnoses in accordance with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev.; American Psychiatric Association, 1987), and characterological features. Results indicate the high-risk nature of those withdrawing prematurely from treatment and suggest that this behavior potentially represents another manifestation of overall maladaptive coping, consistent with prominent avoidant, negativistic, and passive-aggressive personality traits.