Identification of Nearly Fatal Suicide Attempts: Self-Inflicted Injury Severity Form

The Self-inflicted Injury Severity Form (SIISF) was developed as an epidemiological research tool for identifying individuals in hospital emergency departments who have life-threatening self-inflicted injuries. Data were collected from 715 patients with self-inflicted injuries in two large hospitals. In 295 of these cases, a second set of data was independently collected for assessment of interrater reliability. Validity was assessed by comparing the SIISF results with simultaneously collected Risk—Rescue Ratings. Assessment of interrater reliability found that only 2.4% of physicians disagreed on the suicide method used. The kappa statistic for method used was .94, indicating excellent agreement. The SIISF was found to distinguish between severe and less severe injuries. Thus, it appears to provide a simple method to distinguish patients who have life-threatening self-inflicted injuries.     

Contrast and spatial frequency components in visual preferences of newborns

A preferential-looking procedure was used to investigate newborns' responses to square-wave gratings varying in spatial frequency and contrast. A preliminary study confirmed that the gratings used in the experiment were suprathreshold. In the experiment newborns' preference for a grating of 0.1 cycle deg-1 within the peak contrast sensitivity range was examined. Reduction in the contrast of this grating led to a transfer of the preference to a high-contrast grating of the same space-averaged luminance with a spatial frequency outside this range (0.42 cycle deg-1). The findings are discussed with reference to the role of the contrast sensitivity function in pattern preferences of newborns: it is suggested that contrast and spatial frequency interact in determining pattern preferences.     

The Influence of Geographic Mobility on Nearly Lethal Suicide Attempts

T eenagers and young adults are very mobile and mobility has been identified as a potential risk factor for suicidal behavior. We conducted a population‐based, case‐control study of nearly lethal suicide attempts with 153 cases and 513 controls. Study participants were asked about changing residence over the past 12 months. Results indicate that moving in the past 12 months is positively associated with a nearly lethal suicide attempt (adjusted odds ratio of 2.1, with 95% confidence interval of 1.4–3.3), as are specific characteristics of the move (e.g., frequency, recency, distance, and difficulty staying in touch). These findings confirm and extend prior ecologic research by demonstrating a relationship, at the individual level, between the geographic mobility of adolescents and young adults and nearly lethal suicide attempts.     

Book reviews

Lipsitt, L. P. and Rove-Collier, C. K. (Eds.). Advances in infancy research. Volume 2. New York: Ablex Publishing Corporation. 1983. Pp. xxix + 314. ISBN 0-89391-113-5. £40.40.

Mollon, J. D. and Sharpe, J. T. (Eds.). Colour vision physiology and psychophysics. London: Academic Press. 1983.

Solan, L. pronominal reference: Child language and the theory of gram- mar. Dordreht: Reidel. 1983. Pp xii +237. ISBN 90-277-1495-9. £26.40.

Atkinson, Martin. Explanations in the study of child language development. Cambridge Studies in Linguistics: 35. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 289. ISBN 0-521-25593-3 (Paperback). £7.50. ISBN 0-521-24302-5 (Case).