1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«Background : Although childhood abuse is an important correlate of suicidality, not all individuals who were abused as children attempt suicide. Aims : To identify correlates and moderators of suicide attempts in adults reporting childhood physical abuse, contact sexual abuse, or both.» (p.134)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«A French-Canadian, school-based cohort (n=1684) was prospectively followed.» (p.134)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«Sexual abuse and, to a lesser extent, physical abuse in childhood have both been associated with suicidality. [...] [I)dentifying factors that differenciate between those who become suicidal and those who do not among people abused as children is a major research and clinical challenge. To adress this challenge, we first examined rates of non-fatal suicidal behaviours in adults reporting negative and positive histories of [...] abuse. We then qualified contributions of early and proximal correlates of suicide attempts, examining psychiatric, socio-demographic, personality and experiential domains.» (p.134) «Results : The identity of the abuser moderated the relationship of abuse frequency and suicide attempts, with individuals abused by their immediate family being at highest risk. Although paternal education exhibited negative associations (OR=0.71, 95% CI 0.58-0.88), several externalising phenotypes had positive associations with suicide attempts: disruptive disorders (OR=3.10, 95% CI 1.05-9.15), conduct problems (OR=1.09, 95% CI 1.01-1.19) and childhood aggression (OR=1.41, 95% CI 1.08-1.83). Conclusions : Characteristics of the abuser and abusive acts may be important additional indicators of risk for suicide attempts. Future research needs to employ developmental approaches to examine the extent and mechanisms by which childhood abuse contributes to the shared variance of suicidality, maladaptive traits and psychopathology.» (p.134)