Suicide Attempts and Personal Need for Structure Among Ex-Offenders

Publication Date

2-1-2017

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Suicide attempts were examined in relation to sociodemographic (age, gender, ethnicity), psychopathological (prior psychiatric hospitalizations, physical and sexual abuse histories), and cognitive (personal need for structure) variables among a sample of ex-offenders with substance use disorders (N = 270). Hierarchical logistic regression was conducted to determine whether personal need for structure would significantly predict whether participants reported past suicide attempts beyond sociodemographic and psychopathological predictors. Personal need for structure and prior psychiatric hospitalizations were the only significant predictors, with higher values of these predictors increasing the likelihood of suicide attempts. Findings are consistent with a cognitive model for understanding suicide behavior, suggesting that persons with a high need for cognitive structures operate with persistent and rigid thought processes that contribute to their risk of suicide.

Publication Title

International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology

Volume

61

Issue

3

First Page

334

Last Page

346

DOI

10.1177/0306624X15595981

Publisher Policy

pre-print, post-print

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