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Background: There is need for a common and uniform nomenclature for suicide and related behaviors. Many nomenclatures exist to address the same., Aims: Study proposes to assess the inter-rater reliability of Silverman et al. nomenclature on suicide and suicidal behaviors., Method: The present study was conducted at the crisis intervention clinic of a tertiary care centre. Case records of patients referred to the centre were evaluated by two trained psychiatrists and were rated according to the Silverman's nomenclature in the domains of suicide related ideation, suicide related communication and suicide related behavior. Inter-rater reliability was measured using kappa coefficient. The relationship of suicide intent item of a structured scale with suicide related ideation, communication and behavior were explored., Results: Inter-rater reliability of the two evaluators using the Silverman's nomenclature on 198 case records was in the moderate range for suicidal related ideation and behavior domains (kappa of 0.476 and 0.502 respectively), but low for communication domain (kappa value of 0.016). The stated intent item of the Pierce Suicide Intent Scale correlated highly with suicide related ideation and behavior as assessed using the Silverman et al. nomenclature (Kendall tau = 0.723 and 0.747 respectively)., Conclusions: Based upon the same case record material, evaluators rate suicide related ideations and behaviors with moderate degree of concordance. However, the concordance is poor for suicide related communication.

Background: Intent in attempted suicide is considered an indicator of subsequent suicide. Few studies in developing countries have examined correlates of suicidal intent among young adults., Aims: This study aimed to assess the intent score among a sample of young suicide attempters from South India and to identify the factors associated with suicide intent among them., Method: The clinical charts of 64 consecutive subjects aged 15-24 years attending emergency services for attempted suicide were reviewed. All participants completed a semistructured proforma, the Presumptive Stressful Life Events Scale, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, the Pierce Suicide Intent Scale, and the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale. Psychiatric diagnoses were made according to the ICD-10 clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines., Results: The intent scores were in the moderate-to-high range for most subjects. Suicide intent score significantly varied depending on the presence or absence of psychiatric morbidity. In bivariate analysis, psychiatric morbidity and hopelessness correlated positively with suicide intent, and in linear regression, hopelessness emerged as a predictor of suicide intent., Conclusion: A high intent of suicide in young is associated with psychiatric morbidity and presence of hopelessness. Hopelessness may be a key predictor of suicidal intent. Assessment of suicidal intent and hopelessness among young attempters is important and may help identify high-risk individuals who need intensive interventions.