Suicide attempt, impulsivity, and exposure to trauma in college students

Afiliação

(1)Programa de Pós-graduação em Medicina e Saúde, Faculdade de Medicina da Bahia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil.

(2)Laboratório de Neuropsicofarmacologia, Serviço de Psiquiatria, Hospital Universitário Professor Edgard Santos, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil.

(3)Centro Universitário Social da Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil.

(4)Centro Universitário Jorge Amado, Salvador, BA, Brazil.

(5)Centro de Pesquisa Gonçalo Moniz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Salvador, BA, Brazil.

(6)Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.

(7)Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

(8)Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.

(9)McGill Group for Suicide Studies, Douglas Mental Health University Institute & Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

Resumo

OBJECTIVES: Past suicide attempt (SA) is one of the most important risk factors for suicide death. An ideation-to-action framework posits that impulsivity, potentially traumatic events, and mental disorders also play a role in increasing suicide risk. This study aimed to assess the association between trait impulsivity, lifetime exposure to trauma, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with SA in a sample of Brazilian college students.METHODS: A total of 2,137 participants filled self-reported questionnaires consisting of a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire, Trauma History Questionnaire, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist - Civilian version, and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale.RESULTS: Our findings suggest that trait impulsivity may be interpreted as exerting a distal effect on SA, even in the presence of other variables - such as trauma history, psychological neglect, and PTSD - which also increase the odds of SA. High and medium levels of impulsivity, history of trauma, and PTSD increased the likelihood of SA.CONCLUSIONS: Intervention strategies to prevent SA may target trait impulsivity and exposure to traumatic experiences.