Anxiety, depression, and alcohol misuse: risk factors for suicide attempt. To determine risk factors for suicide attempts among patients hospitalized for alcoholism or psychiatric disorders, we interviewed the next of kin of 31 patients who had attempted suicide and compared them to a control group of next of kin of 31 patients hospitalized for psychiatric reasons but not for alcoholism or psychiatric disorders. We found that (a) patients with alcoholism (especially alcohol dependence) were more likely to have attempted suicide, (b) patients with anxiety disorders (especially anxiety-induced depression and panic disorder with agoraphobia) were less likely to have attempted suicide, and (c) patients with mood disorders (especially bipolar disorder and major depression with seasonal pattern) were more likely to have attempted suicide. These data suggest that the clinical characteristics of patients can differentiate patients with high risk for suicide attempts. We propose that screening instruments be developed to identify alcoholics with alcohol dependence, as well as patients with anxiety disorders who have a low risk of attempting suicide and patients with mood disorders who have a high risk of attempting suicide.