The British Journal of Psychiatry 138: 141-146 (1981)
© 1981 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

Are young women who attempt suicide hysterical?

RD Goldney

Young women who had attempted suicide did not score in a more hysterical manner than women in a comparison group when assessed by the Hysteroid-Obsessoid Questionnaire. Those who made suicide attempts resulting in little physical harm more often demonstrated hysterical traits than those whose attempt involved a serious threat to life. However, even in those subjects the majority did not score in an hysteroid manner, and they certainly scored in a less hysteroid manner than subjects of the comparison group. These results are in accord with the small literature using standardised assessments, and do not support the clinical view that young women who attempt suicide exhibit marked hysterical traits.