Suicide Attempts and Personal Need for Structure Among Ex-Offenders

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.