Suicide Probability in Adolescents With a History of Childhood Maltreatment: The Role of Non Suicidal Self Injury, Emotion Regulation Difficulties, and Forms of Self Criticism
Background Suicidal attempt and non suicidal self injury are very common in adolescents with a history of childhood maltreatment. By identifying correlates of these kinds of high risk behaviors, it is possible to prevent and decrease completed suicide. Objectives The aims of this study were: 1) to compare adolescents with a history of childhood maltreatment with non suicidal self injury (NSSI) or past suicidal attempt in terms of suicide probability, and 2) to investigate the association between NSSI, forms of self criticism, emotion regulation difficulties, and suicide probability. Patients and Methods Participants were 169 adolescents living in Iranian social welfare centers who had a history of childhood maltreatment. The Suicide Probability Scale, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, Forms of Self criticism, and the Non Suicidal Self injury (NSSI) checklist were used for assessment. Results Adolescents with NSSI and suicidal attempts had higher rates of suicide ideation than adolescents with NSSI only (P 0.05) Feelings of inadequacy, self hatred, difficulty with impulse control, and frequency of NSSI can predict 50% variance of suicide probability (P 0.001) Conclusions Adolescents with histories of suicidal attempts and NSSI, compared with adolescents with NSSI only, were more prone to suicide. Self criticism, poor impulse control, and the frequency of NSSI were the main risk factors associated with suicide probability in adolescents with a history of childhood maltreatment.
International journal of high risk behaviors addiction