Mental disorders and their comorbidities are distributed unevenly between sexes and age groups, are particularly associated with marital and employment status, and vary by region. There appears to be no single population subgroup at high risk for all mental disorders, but rather several different subgroups at risk for particular disorders or comorbidity patterns.

The occurrence of recent life events during the last 3 months, and Social support received were studied in a nationwide suicide population (N = 1,067) in Finland. Recent life events were reported in 80 % of the suicides. Job problems (28 %), family discord (23 %), somatic illness (22 %), financial trouble (18 %), unemployment (16 %), separation (14 %), death (13 %) and illness in family (12 %) were the most common life events. Sex differences were found in recent life events: any life event, separation, financial trouble, job problems and unemployment were more common among males. The mean number of life events was also higher among males. Living alone was more common among female victims. Females had children more often than males. In terms of friendships, more females had a close friend, whereas more males had friends sharing common interests. Females had complained of loneliness more often than males. Those females who had lived alone had encountered a recent death more often than other females. The male victims who had lived alone had experienced separation, financial trouble and unemployment during the last 3 months more frequently than other males, suggesting a concurrent stressor effect of these recent life events with living alone in male suicides.

The psychosocial development of adolescents with visual impairment was studied in a group of 54 adolescents (40 boys, 14 girls) attending Finnish regular schools. Mean age was 14.0 (SD 0.87). The control group consisted of normally sighted adolescents of the same age level (N=385, 172 boys, 213 girls). Data were collected with self-report questionnaires. Results indicated that the adolescent group with visual impairment did not differ from the control group in the frequency of depression, distress symptoms or in their relations with parents and siblings. Adolescents with visual impairment less often had many friends and dates with other young people than those without visual impairment. They also reported more often feelings of loneliness and difficulties in making friends. Self-esteem, school achievement and social skills were lower in girls with visual impairment than in the control girls. In summary, our results showed that the psychosocial developmental outcomes of many adolescents with visual impairment were similar to their peers without visual impairment. However, some adolescents with visual impairment, especially girls, need more support in their psychosocial development.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and comorbidity of current mental disorders defined by DSM-III-R among elderly suicide victims and to compare them with the mental disorders among younger victims. Using a psychological autopsy method, we collected comprehensive data on all suicides in Finland during 1 year. Retrospective Axis I-III consensus diagnoses were assigned to a random sample consisting of 43 victims aged 60 years or over and 186 victims aged under 60 from the nationwide suicide population. At least one Axis I diagnosis was made for 91% of the elderly victims. Major depression as the principal diagnosis was more common among the elderly victims. Almost all elderly female victims were major depressives. Psychiatric comorbidity was more common among elderly male than among elderly female victims. More of the elderly victims (88%) than the younger (36%) received Axis III diagnoses. Suicide among the elderly without a diagnosable mental disorder and somatopsychiatric comorbidity seems to be rare.