Citation

Tousignant M, Pouliot L, Routhier D, Vrakas G, McGirr A, Turecki G. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 2011; 41(1): 66-78.

Affiliation

Michel Tousignant, Louise Pouliot, and Georgia Vrakas, Centre of Research and Intervention on Suicide and Euthanasia, University of Quebec in Montreal, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, Canada; Danielle Routhier, Psychosocial Research Unit, Douglas Hospital Research Center, Montreal, Canada; and Alexander McGirr, Gustavo Turecki, McGill Group for Suicide Studies, Douglas Hospital Research Center, Montreal, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1943-278X.2010.00002.x

PMID

21309825

Abstract

The first objective was to identify the provoking events of suicide in patients with schizophrenia or schizoid-type disorder, and to assess the humiliation component of these events. The second objective was to verify if quality of care during childhood is a vulnerability factor for suicide in patients with schizophrenia or schizoid-type psychosis. Thirty-three cases of suicide with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoid-type psychosis were compared with 34 living patients with a similar diagnosis. The psychological autopsy method was used. The assessments were made with the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Axis I mental disorders, the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule, and the Child Experiences and Child Abuse Interview. The suicide group (SG) experienced more often a recent severe event, usually of a humiliation nature, than the control group (CG). It also experienced more severe events associated with aggressive behavior or with psychiatric impairment. Contrary to expectations, the CG had worse scores than the SG for quality of care during childhood. In conclusion, suicide in schizophrenia is related both to environmental stress and to psychiatric impairment.

Language: en