Continuity from suicidal ideations to suicide attempts? An investigation in 18–55 years old adult Iranian Kurds

Objectives Suicidal ideation as a critical point for the identification of individuals at risk of committing suicide/attempting suicide. Methods Cross-sectional study; random sample; n = 1,000; attitudes towards Suicide questionnaire. Results Iranian Kurds reported very few suicide attempts, whereas the prevalence of reported suicidal thoughts was found to be very high. The reported frequency of suicidal thoughts and the number of suicide attempts during the last year was significantly higher than that from earlier in life. Conclusions A continuum of suicidal behaviour is supported; but, this did not include self-reported suicide attempts. The reported frequency of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts was highly dependent on applied response categories and the considered timeframe, which has to be considered thoroughly when interpreting related results.