Estimation of suicide risk by the use of clinical models.

This report details some preliminary experience in the use of clinical models to develop scales for the estimation of suicide risk. A cohort was drawn for each of two models: Stable with Forced Change (N = 333) and Alienated (N = 566). A set of postulated discriminators regarding suicide was examined with negative results. Available data revealed 12 items for the Stable with Forced Change model and 20 items for the Alienated model that discriminated between the suicides and the nonsuicides at a .05 level of confidence. That only 4 items were common to both supports the idea that the models represent different populations in regard to vulnerability to suicide and thus require independent lethality scales.