Citation

Ullman SE, Brecklin LR. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 2002; 32(2): 117-130.

Affiliation

Department of Criminal Justice, University of Illinois at Chicago 60607-7140, USA. seullman@uic.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12079028

Abstract

This study examined demographic and psychosocial correlates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in women with histories of sexual assault in childhood and/or adulthood identified from a national sample of women. Multivariate analyses showed that women with histories of sexual assault in both childhood and adulthood reported significantly greater odds of lifetime suicide attempts, controlling for demographic factors and other psychosocial characteristics. As predicted, younger age (marginal), stressful life events (marginal), depression, PTSD, and alcohol dependence symptoms were also significantly associated with suicidal ideation. Furthermore, number of lifetime traumatic events and depression were each associated with lifetime odds of suicide attempts. Implications for studying the role of sexual trauma and other psychosocial factors in relation to women's suicidal behavior are discussed.