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01-08-2014 | Original Paper

Lifetime Trauma and Suicide Attempts in People with Severe Mental Illness

Authors: Thomas O’Hare, Ce Shen, Margaret Sherrer

Published in: Community Mental Health Journal | Issue 6/2014

Abstract

We examined associations among six forms of common lifetime traumatic/adverse events and lifetime suicide attempts while controlling for gender, psychiatric symptoms, self-injury, and substance use in 371 community mental health clients with severe mental illness. Most clients (88.1 %) reported at least one traumatic event, and more than half had attempted suicide at least once. Regression revealed that three factors were significantly associated with lifetime suicide attempts: lifetime self-injurious behaviors, lifetime physical abuse, and alcohol use. Having been physically abused appears to be uniquely associated with lifetime suicide attempts when other key risk factors are controlled. Limitations include the cross-sectional design.

For simplicity, we will use the term “trauma” recognizing that adverse events such as “unexpected loss of a loved one” and “having been homeless” may not necessarily meet DSM-IV criterion A threshold.

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Title: Lifetime Trauma and Suicide Attempts in People with Severe Mental Illness
Authors: Thomas O’Hare
Ce Shen
Margaret Sherrer
Publication date: 01-08-2014
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Community Mental Health Journal / Issue 6/2014
Print ISSN: 0010-3853
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2789
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-013-9658-7

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Lifetime Trauma and Suicide Attempts in People with Severe Mental Illness

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