suicide

Suicide resiliency has gained increasing attention from researchers because it can serve as a protective factor against suicide, although it has not been thoroughly studied in adolescents.

This study examined the structural relationship between cognitive reactivity and early life experiences with suicide resiliency, with psychological pain serving as a mediator.

A total of 300 high school students aged 15 - 19 in Lorestan province were selected through cluster sampling. To collect data, the following tools were used: The Leiden Index of Depression Sensitivity-Revised, the Early Life Experiences Scale (ELES), the Suicide Resilience Inventory (SRI-25), and the Orbach & Mikulincer Mental Pain Scale (OMMP). Structural equation modeling was employed to evaluate the proposed model using AMOS version 24 and SPSS version 26.

Results indicated a positive relationship between cognitive reactivity (CR) and early life experiences with psychological pain. Additionally, there was a significant negative relationship between cognitive reactivity, early life experiences, and psychological pain with suicide resiliency. Findings showed that the proposed model adequately fit the data. The results of structural equation modeling revealed that 74% of the variance in psychological pain was explained by CR and early life experiences. Furthermore, 79% of the variance in the Suicide Resilience Inventory (SRI) was explained by CR, early life experiences, and psychological pain.

These findings represent a preliminary step toward clarifying the role of cognitive reactivity, early life experiences, and psychological pain in suicide resiliency. These factors should be considered in psychotherapeutic interventions aimed at reducing suicide attempts.

 Suicide is a serious public health issue that is more prevalent among substance abusers.

This scoping review aims to examine the prevalence of suicide attempts and completed suicides in this target population.

Data Sources: A systematic search was conducted without language or time restrictions in electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Sciences and Google Scholar using medical subject headings (MeSH) keywords. The primary outcome was the overall prevalence of suicide, while secondary outcomes included the prevalence of suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, and completed suicides among the target population.Study Selection: All observational studies (including cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies) were included. Two independent reviewers performed the selection of relevant studies throughout all stages of the study selection process, including screening, full-text review, and quality assessment using a modified version of the Department of Health & Human Services tool. Data Extraction: Data extraction was carried out using Excel, and data analysis was performed using Stata version 17. Ultimately, 13 studies were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis process.

The findings revealed that personal and family history of suicide attempts, as well as psychological disorders, significantly increased the odds of mortality. Furthermore, the synthesis of studies indicated that the overall prevalence of suicide (including completed suicides, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts) among this population was: ES [95% confidence interval] = 0.42 [0.31 to 0.52]. In the subgroup analysis, the results showed: The prevalence of completed suicides: ES [95% confidence interval] = 0.59 [0.52 to 0.66]. The prevalence of suicidal ideation: ES [95% confidence interval] = 0.29 [0.26 to 0.31]. The prevalence of suicide attempts: ES [95% confidence interval] = 0.29 [-0.17 to 0.76].

The results of this study demonstrate a high prevalence of both completed suicides and suicide attempts among individuals with substance abuse issues. To reduce the incidence of these behaviors, governments should design programs aimed at decreasing the rates of Poisoning and mortality in this population.

This study aimed to predict suicide attempts based on behavioral activation and inhibition systems (BAS/BIS) with the mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation (CER) strategies among adolescents of Abyek City.

The research methodology was descriptive-correlational. The cluster sampling method was used, and the resulting sample included 194 adolescents who responded to the BAS/BIS questionnaire (Carver & White, 1994), CER questionnaire, and Beck scale for suicide ideation. Path analysis was employed to evaluate the proposed model using AMOS 24.0 and SPSS 27 software.

The findings indicate that the proposed model is fitted with the data well. The results of path analysis showed that the BAS/BIS systems explain 27% of the variance of maladaptive CER and 61% of the variance of adaptive CER. In addition, maladaptive CER, BAS, and BIS explain 65% of the variance of suicide attempts.

Low levels of BAS, high levels of BIS, and the use of maladaptive CER skills can be considered risk factors for suicide attempts in adolescents.

Automatic negative thoughts have an important role in development of a persistent negative cognitive bias, which may ultimately result in suicidal ideation. The primary objective of the present study was to examine the relationship between automatic negative thoughts and experiential avoidance in relation to psychological distress.

The study sample comprised 441 individuals who had attempted suicide. Participants underwent interviews utilizing standardized questionnaires including Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire–II, and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire along with its nine subscales. After internal relationships assessment among the research variables, outlier detection was done using the boxplot analysis and standard deviation distance metrics. To analyze the direct and indirect associations between the input and output variables, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed. In addition, SPSS-28 and Amos 29 software were used to analyzed the data.

The final model showed that automatic negative thoughts were significantly inversely associated with adaptive cognitive emotion regulation (β = -0.42, P ≤ 0.01) and significantly positively related to both maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation (β = 0.49, P ≤ 0.01) and psychological distress (β = 0.53, P < 0.01). Additionally, experiential avoidance showed a significant positive relationship with maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation (β = 0.22, P < 0.01).

This research demonstrated that automatic negative thoughts could worsen psychological distress through the regulation of cognitive emotion in those who had a history of suicide. By the clinical management of automatic negative thoughts and shifting individuals’ cognitive emotion regulation toward adaptive strategies, there is potential for a substantial reduction in suicidal ideation and attempts which can be evaluated in future clinical trials.

Suicide is a critical global issue with profound social and economic consequences. Implementing effective prevention strategies is essential to alleviate these impacts. Deep neural network (DNN) algorithms have gained significant traction in health sectors for their predictive capability. We looked at the potential of DNNs to predict suicide cases.

A descriptive-analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted to analyze suicide data using a deep neural network predictive prevention system (DNNPPS). The analysis utilized a suicide dataset comprising 1,500 data points, provided by a health research center in Kerman, Iran, spanning the years 2019-2022.

Factors such as history of psychiatric hospitals, days of the week, and job were identified as the most important risk factors for predicting suicide attempts. Promising results were obtained by applying the DNNPPS model to a dataset of 1453 individuals with a history of suicide. The problem was approached as a binary classification task, with suicide history as the target variable. We performed preprocessing techniques, including class balancing, and constructed a DNN model using a sequential architecture with four dense layers.

The success of the DNN algorithm depends on the quality and quantity of data, as well as the model's architecture. High-quality data should be accurate, representative, and relevant, while a large dataset enables the DNN to learn more features. In our study, the DNNPPS model performed well, achieving an F1-score of 91%, which indicates high accuracy in predicting suicide cases and a good balance between precision and recall.

Suicide is a serious global public health issue. It is the fourth-leading cause of death among young people between the ages of 15 and 29. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the important risk factors associated with violent and non-violent methods of committing suicide. This research was a cross-sectional study that included all people who attempted suicide between 2019 and 2023 and were part of the population covered by Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (Mashhad, Iran). Predictive variables for suicide attempts included age, sex, education, marital status, occupation, place of residence, drug abuse, smoking, psychiatric diagnoses, and the intended outcome of violent and non-violent methods. Logistic regression analysis was used to model the relationship between selected risk factors and the response variable. The data were analyzed using STATA software version 14. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Among the 18,281 people, 53% were men. Men, those who had lost their wives, people who lived in suburban areas, and people who had self-employed jobs or were unemployed, had higher rates of attempted suicide using violent methods. The chance of using violent methods was found to be 64% lower in women than in men (OR=0.36, 95%CI=0.30-0.43) and 45% higher in single individuals than in married people (OR=1.45, 95%CI=1.20-1.75). This study found that several factors influenced the choice of method for committing suicide. Men, those who had lost their wives, suburban inhabitants, those with insecure jobs or unemployment, and single people were more prone to use violent methods. Meanwhile, women, the elderly, and those with higher education levels showed a preference for non-violent methods.

A growing body of reviews focused on grief interventions and their effectiveness after the loss of a loved one due to suicide. This overview aimed to synthesize the results of the eight reviews during the last two decades.

Reviews were searched in databases (PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, Embase, Google Scholar, and Scopus) from 2008 to 2024. Articles that provide data on grief interventions within the context of suicide loss survivors will be included. The author screened the retrieved articles through (1) title and abstract screening and (2) full-text screening. A narrative synthesis approach was utilized for analyzing received high scores in the quality assessment studies.

The data were extracted into two main themes, "Types of Interventions" with five sub-themes, and "Effectiveness Spectrum," with five sub-themes.

Findings showed that most interventions focused on providing education, emotional support, and coping strategies for individuals grieving the loss of a loved one to suicide. Some interventions still yield inconclusive results, and research gaps require further exploration.

Context: 

Drug-related mortality is a major concern in public and global health discussions.

Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence, causes, and prevention of death after individuals are released from prison.

This study was conducted systematically using MeSH keywords with no language or time restrictions. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were extensively searched for observational studies from 1980/1/1 to 2023/12/30, following the PRISMA checklist. Fourteen research studies were ultimately included in the systematic review process. The CRD code is CRD42024571756.

The two-week period following release, with an 18% prevalence, was identified as the time when most overdose deaths occurred. The leading causes of death included prior heroin use, previous experiences with drug withdrawal, drug injection, and sedative use within six months before death. Compared to other unnatural causes of death, there was an increased risk of fatal drug overdose for individuals who died within the first two months of release. Men had higher death rates from all causes compared to women. Most studies reported that substance abuse treatment during imprisonment and providing take-home naloxone for emergencies protected against mortality from all causes.

In conclusion, evidence from these systematic investigations highlights the urgent need for targeted interventions to address substance use disorders and overdose prevention among individuals recently released from prison. Efforts to bridge the gap between incarceration and community reintegration should prioritize comprehensive substance abuse treatment programs to reduce the heightened risk of mortality in this vulnerable population.

 This study investigates suicide literacy, help-seeking attitudes, and related factors among medical residents.

 The study utilized a cross-sectional design and included all medical residents in Kerman University of Medical Sciences in 2023‒2024. We obtained demographic information, psychiatric history, and administered questionnaires about literacy of suicide (LOSS) and the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help (ATSPPH-SF).

 A total of 157 residents with a mean age of 28.97±2.55 years participated. The prevalence of any psychiatric history was 17.83% (95% CI: 12.1‒23.56). Notably, more educated males displayed higher suicidal literacy (95% CI: 0.231‒0.567, P=0.032), while there was no significant difference in help-seeking attitudes between genders (P=0.755). Surgical residents scored lower than non-surgical specialties like pediatrics (mean difference=2.63, 95% CI: 0.23-5.03, P=0.023, effect size d=0.589). Older age positively correlated with help-seeking attitudes (r=0.158, P=0.049). Additionally, marital status, residency level, history of psychiatric illnesses and their types, previous use of psychiatric medications, and history of self-harm or suicide had no significant impact on suicide literacy scores or attitude toward help-seeking. A moderate association (r=0.367) was found between the suicide literacy and help-seeking attitude questionnaire scores.

 Despite relatively high suicide literacy, medical residents displayed average help-seeking attitudes, positioning them as a high-risk group. Urgent interventions are needed to enhance awareness of the importance of psychological support and to reduce stress and work pressure, indirectly mitigating the risk of suicide in this vulnerable population.

 Considering the limited information on suicide determinants, especially in low- and middle-income countries, the establishment and promotion of a suicide registration system are among the prominent strategies for suicide prevention programs around the world. The multicenter suicide registry is designed to collect standardized data from the two provinces of Iran according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

 The Suicidal Behavior Registration Program is a multicenter study designed in five stages, including literature review, infrastructure establishment, database design, training, data analysis, and examining opportunities and challenges. The research samples cases of suicide attempts and self-harm from hospitals in the provinces of Tehran and Ilam.

 The multicenter suicide registration program was carried out for 8 months in the two provinces of Tehran and Ilam. During the study period, data of 1382 people were registered, of which 7 cases in Ilam resulted in death. The study uncovered significant differences in socio-demographic, psychological status, and suicide characteristics in the two provinces.

 The design and implementation of the suicide registration program help researchers and policymakers make more innovative and effective interventions to prevent suicide by creating a comprehensive database of suicidal behavior determinants.

Suicide, defined as the intentional act of self-inflicted death, constitutes a significant global public health burden. Every year, over 700,000 individuals worldwide die by suicide. Studies in Iran have reported an alarming prevalence of suicidal behavior among students, with estimates of suicide attempts ranging from 1.8% to 3.5%, and suicidal ideation rates fluctuating between 6.2% and 42.7%. This complex phenomenon is influenced by a wide array of factors. A major challenge to effective suicide prevention strategies is the limited understanding of the mechanisms that lead from suicidal ideation to actual suicide attempts.

This study aimed to investigate the relationships between suicidal ideation, suicidal behaviors, and the constructs of the three-step theory within a student population.

A cross-sectional design was employed, with convenience sampling enrolling 260 students from Zanjan University of Medical Sciences. Students consented to participate and completed various questionnaires, including the Beck Suicide Ideation Scale (BSSI), the Inventory of Motivations for Suicide Attempts (IMSA), the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), the Symptom Checklist-25 (SCL-25), the Acquired Capability for Suicide Scale (ACSS), and a single-item suicide attempt question. The participants ranged in age from 18 to 52 years (mean: 23.62, standard deviation: 5.48), with 75% of the sample being female, and 85% single. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 24 and AMOS 24 software.

Correlation analysis revealed that psychic pain, hopelessness, and low belongingness were significantly and directly correlated with both suicidal ideations and behaviors (all P-values < 0.05). Structural equation modeling results demonstrated that the combination of pain and hopelessness directly predicted suicidal ideation (β = 0.318, P < 0.001) and low belongingness (β = 0.867, P < 0.001). These factors indirectly predicted suicidal behavior through suicidal ideation, capability for suicide, and low belongingness (β = 0.406, P < 0.001). Additionally, suicidal ideation was a strong direct predictor of suicidal behavior (β = 0.556, P < 0.001), and low belongingness directly predicted suicidal behaviors (β = 0.226, P < 0.001). However, the capability for suicide did not statistically predict suicidal behavior within this student sample.

The findings support the validity of the three-step theory in a student population. Pain, hopelessness, and low belongingness were significant predictors of suicidal ideation and attempts among students, while the capability for suicide did not predict suicidal behavior in this context. These results provide a novel perspective by confirming the applicability of the three-step theory in a non-clinical student population, offering valuable insights into the interrelations of the model’s key components.

Crisis hotlines have become a popular means of providing mental health support during crises, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our aim was to establish and evaluate the implementation of a freely accessible psychiatric crisis hotline in Iran.

During each call, crisis counselors conducted crisis assessments, applied behavioral techniques, provided referrals, and evaluated service satisfaction. Likert scale questions were used during both the initial and follow-up calls to measure the callers' distress level. Suicide risk and the degree of aggression were assessed using a modified list of questions taken from the Iranian Mental Health Survey (IranMHS). We performed the Wilcoxon single-rank test and linear regression analyses to evaluate and compare changes.

A total of 3633 calls were responded to over six months. We assessed 737 calls at baseline, of which around 30% (N = 221) were re-interviewed in the follow-up call. Females constituted 71% of baseline calls (N = 523), and 53.6% of the callers (N = 395) were under 25 years old, while 63% (N = 465) were single. Approximately 41.5% (95% CI [0.542, 0.615]) of the callers (N = 306) reported suicidal ideations at the baseline call, and suicidal risk was assessed as moderate-to-high in 227 callers (37.5%, 95% CI [34.1, 41.1]) at baseline. Experienced distress significantly decreased both during the baseline call (z = 23.47, P < 0.001) and at the follow-up compared with baseline (z = 9.30, P < 0.001). In the follow-up, 186 callers (84.2%, 95% CI [78.6, 88.7]) reported high satisfaction with the service. Approximately 48% (95% CI [0.410, 0.551]) (N = 98) of the subjects who were referred to other mental health services (N = 204) followed through with the suggested referrals.

The crisis hotline was successfully implemented and well-received by callers in a developing country setting. A randomized trial is required to establish its effectiveness.

The issue of suicide among medical residents in Iran has received significant attention in recent years.