ATTEMPTED-SUICIDE AMONG LIVING CO-TWINS OF TWIN SUICIDE VICTIMS

Objective: The authors hypothesized that significantly more living mon ozygotic than dizygotic co-twins of twin suicide victims would themsel ves have attempted suicide. Method: They determined the absence or pre sence of an attempt at suicide at any time among 26 living monozygotic co-twins and nine living dizygotic co-twins of twins who had committe d suicide. Results: They found that 10 of the 26 surviving monozygotic co-twins but none of the nine surviving dizygotic co-twins had themse lves attempted suicide. Conclusions: Although monozygotic and dizygoti c twins may have some differing developmental experiences, these resul ts contribute to findings of previous studies of suicide in twins in s uggesting that genetic factors may play a role in suicidal behavior.