New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Study linking suicidal behavior, psychotic experiences may yield strategies to help prevent suicide attempts

Date:
February 25, 2015
Source:
University of Maryland, Baltimore
Summary:
Suicidal ideation and psychotic experiences have been studied among more than 11,000 adults 18 and older. The data were drawn from a large general-population based sample of U. S. households. Suicide is a leading cause of preventable death, especially among individuals with psychotic disorders, and may also be common among nonclinical populations of adults whose psychotic experiences cause less impairment. Psychotic experiences resemble the hallucinations and delusions of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia but are of lower persistence and intensity.
Share:
FULL STORY

A study that could help to bolster suicide prevention efforts has examined the prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among adults who reported psychotic experiences. These respondents, drawn from a large national sample, were found to be more likely to report concurrent ideation and attempts than were adults without psychotic experiences.

The study, "Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts Among Adults with Psychotic Experiences, was published Feb. 25 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. Such experiences were especially prevalent among individuals reporting severe attempts and may account for nearly one-third of attempts with intent to die in the United States annually, stated lead author Jordan DeVylder, PhD, Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work.

Suicide is a leading cause of preventable death, especially among individuals with psychotic disorders, and may also be common among nonclinical populations of adults whose psychotic experiences cause less impairment. Psychotic experiences resemble the hallucinations and delusions of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia but are of lower persistence and intensity.

"People with suicidal thoughts will often report this to their healthcare providers. A current difficulty in suicide prevention is identifying who, among this group with suicidal ideation, will go on to make an attempt. This study suggests that assessing for psychotic experiences may provide valuable information in predicting attempts," DeVylder said.

DeVylder and colleagues concluded that such assessment among individuals with suicidal ideation has potential clinical and public health utility in reducing the prevalence of attempts, particularly attempts with intent to die.

"Suicide is a complication of multiple mental disorders including mood and psychotic disorders. This study supports the clinical concern that patients with psychotic experiences are at increased risk for suicidal behavior and provides additional data on risk factors for clinicians to monitor," said co-author Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD, Lawrence C. Kolb Professor and Chairman of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Other co-authors are Ellen P. Lukens, PhD, MSW, Firestone Centennial Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University School of Social Work; and Bruce Link, PhD, Professor of Epidemiology and Professor of Sociomedical Sciences (in Psychiatry) at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

"Psychotic experiences were more strongly associated with suicide attempts than were common mental health conditions in our study. However, suicide attempts were especially common among respondents who reported psychotic experiences and had a diagnosable disorder," said DeVylder. "Suicide attempts were approximately 25 times more likely to occur among this group relative to those who did not report psychotic experiences or a disorder, compared to five times more likely among those with a disorder alone, without psychotic experiences."

DeVylder and colleagues found that depressive, anxiety, and substance abuse disorders did not readily identify those at risk for attempts among respondents with suicidal ideation.

The study examined the association between 12-month suicidality and 12-month psychotic experiences, using cross-sectional survey data drawn from a large, general population-based sample of U.S. households identified through the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (2001-2003). The study of 11,716 adults, who were 18 years or older, used an oversampling design of racial/ethnic minority groups intended to make the findings applicable to a broad demographic.


Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Maryland, Baltimore. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Jordan E. DeVylder, Ellen P. Lukens, Bruce G. Link, Jeffrey A. Lieberman. Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts Among Adults With Psychotic Experiences. JAMA Psychiatry, 2015; DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.2663

Cite This Page:

University of Maryland, Baltimore. "Study linking suicidal behavior, psychotic experiences may yield strategies to help prevent suicide attempts." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 25 February 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150225114056.htm>.
University of Maryland, Baltimore. (2015, February 25). Study linking suicidal behavior, psychotic experiences may yield strategies to help prevent suicide attempts. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 19, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150225114056.htm
University of Maryland, Baltimore. "Study linking suicidal behavior, psychotic experiences may yield strategies to help prevent suicide attempts." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150225114056.htm (accessed March 19, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES