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Factors linked to suicide risk in a diverse sample of psychiatric patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2023

M. Pontiggia ,
S. Bonaldi ,
C. Gramaglia ,
P. Zeppegno ,
F. Madeddu ,
R. Calati  and
S. Magliocca
M. Pontiggia*
Affiliation:
1Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan
S. Bonaldi
Affiliation:
1Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan
C. Gramaglia
Affiliation:
2Institute of Psychiatry, Università del Piemonte Orientale 3S.C. Psichiatria, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Maggiore della Carità, Novara, Italy
P. Zeppegno
Affiliation:
2Institute of Psychiatry, Università del Piemonte Orientale 3S.C. Psichiatria, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Maggiore della Carità, Novara, Italy
F. Madeddu
Affiliation:
1Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan
R. Calati
Affiliation:
1Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan 4Department of Adult Psychiatry, Nîmes University Hospital, Nîmes, France
S. Magliocca
Affiliation:
1Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Suicidal behavior is a global public health problem. Among the most investigated theories for the explanation of suicide there is the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide (IPTS) by Thomas E. Joiner. IPTS focuses on 3 variables related to lethal suicide attempt: thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness and acquired capability for suicide.

Objectives

We aimed to understand which variables were mostly related to suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempts (SA) in a sample of psychiatric patients.

Methods

A sample of 80 psychiatric patients including inpatients (n=18), outpatients (n=21) and patients from various Italian rehabilitative psychiatric communities (n=41) was recruited between June 7th, 2021 and September 12th, 2022. We administered a battery of various scales, including State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, STAI, Beck Depression Inventory, BDI, Reasons For Living Inventory, RFLI, Acquired Capability for Suicide Scale-Fearlessness About Death, ACSS-FAD, Rosenberg self-esteem scale, RSES, Mental pain questionnaire, MPQ, Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire, INQ. For each scale we compared a) patients with and without lifetime SI; b) patients with and without history of SA. Then, we performed two logistic regression models (stepwise backward method), one for SI and one for SA.

Results

Both patients with SI and SA have higher anxiety (STAI), depression (BDI), mental pain (MPQ), perceived burdensomeness (INQ), thwarted belongingness (INQ), fearlessness about death (ACSS_FAD) and lower self-esteem (RSES), beliefs about coping strategies (RFLI) and moral objections (RFLI). Depression (BDI) and beliefs about coping strategies (RFLI) were the variables most strongly associated with SI; higher fearlessness about death (ACSS-FAD) and low self-esteem levels (RSES) were the variables most strongly associated with history of SA. The SI model was able to predict 84% of ideation cases; the SA model was able to predict 74% of the attempts.

Conclusions

The results supported that improving the ability to cope with suicidal thoughts is a key component of therapeutic work with suicidal patients. In addition, according to the IPTS, the history of SA has been particularly explained by fearlessness about death. Hence it may be important to focus on these aspects in suicide prevention.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 66 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 31st European Congress of Psychiatry , March 2023 , pp. S316 - S317
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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