Citation

Ehnvall A, Parker G, Hadzi-Pavlovic D, Malhi G. Acta Psychiatr. Scand. 2007; 117(1): 50-56.

Affiliation

Research and Development Unit, FoU, Varberg Hospital, Varberg, and Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, Göteborg University, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1600-0447.2007.01124.x

PMID

18028251

Abstract

Objective: To examine the hypothesis that lifetime suicide attempts in a sample of depressed individuals is greater among those who remember their parents as rejecting or neglecting in childhood. Method: Database analyses of patients referred to a public hospital Mood Disorders Unit in Sydney, over a consecutive 10-year period. Patients met DSM-IV criteria for depression, had completed a self-report questionnaire regarding perception of parental rearing, and had responded to a probe question assessing lifetime suicide attempts (n = 343). Results: Female patients who perceived themselves as rejected/neglected by either parent in childhood had a greater chance of making at least one lifetime suicide attempt. No such associations were found for males. Conclusion: Perception of rejecting/neglectful parents was associated with lifetime suicide attempts in females only, inviting research explicating any such gender specificity.

Language: en