Background: Besides hanging, which accounts for over 60% of suicides in Slovenia, other prevalent suicide methods include firearms, jumping from height, drowning, railway suicides and self-poisoning with medications. The purpose of this study was to analyse suicide characteristics and accompanying circumstances associated with those five different suicide methods.
Method: We examined 546 police reports of suicides in Slovenia spanning from 2012 to 2022. We investigated for (i) the presence of communication with the environment, suicide notes, previous suicide attempts, alcohol or substances at the time of death and (ii) problems potentially associated with suicide as reported to the police by relatives or professionals.
Results: Of the 546 suicides, 400 (73.3%) were male, with an average age of 57.39 years (SD=18.40). Firearms accounted for 237 (43.4%) suicide deaths, jumps from height for 109 (20.0%), drownings for 80 (14.7%), suicides on railway tracks for 76 (13.9%) and self-poisonings with medications for 44 (8.1%). In 34.4% of cases, individuals directly expressed their intention to end their lives, an additional 26.4% communicated it indirectly and in 29.9% of cases communication was not present or detected by others (data was missing in remaining 9.3% of cases). 16.3% had previous suicide attempts, which were least common among those who died by firearms. The most frequently identified problems associated with suicide were diagnosed mental disorder (37.5%), chronic illness or pain (27.8%), alcohol abuse (14.5%), family conflict (11.0%) and loss of a loved one (10.1%). The prevalence of diagnosed mental disorders was lower in firearm-specific cases compared to prevalence in other methods. Individuals with chronic illness or pain were more likely to die from firearms or drowning compared to other methods.
Conclusions: The analysis of police reports has provided valuable insights into the circumstances individuals face before their death. These findings will aid us in shaping interventions aimed at restricting access to suicide means, providing support to those at higher risk and educating gatekeepers. While many reports were incomplete and did not offer all the information we sought, another benefit of the study will be recommendations of improvements in police suicide reporting.