HOW RELIABLE ARE OFFICIAL DATA ON SUICIDE ATTEMPTS - (USING DATA FOR VIENNA, 1989)

The numbers for suicide attempts in Vienna 1989 from the following sou rces are compared: Statistical Department of the City of Vienna, hospi tal system of the City of Vienna, Vienna ambulance service, and Vienna Crisis Intervention Center. There are striking differences in the num bers reported by these institutions. In the data of the Statistical De partment for the time period 1983 to 1989 there is a drastic decline o f 56.5%, men exceeding women for the first time in decades. These resu lts are not in agreement with the clinical experience of the authors. It is therefore possible that the official statistics underestimate th e number of suicide attempts in Vienna. It appears the official data a re markedly influenced by changes in the methods of data collection. T herefore, official numbers do not seem to be reliable and cannot be us ed to compare changes in suicide attempt frequency in the long run eit her. Possible reasons for the uncertainty of official numbers on suici de attempts are discussed.