Psychopathological Characteristics and Adverse Childhood Events Are Differentially Associated with Suicidal Ideation and Suicidal Acts in Mood Disorders

Background: Depression is an important risk factor for suicide. However, other dimensions may contribute to the suicidal risk and to the transition from ideas to acts. We aimed to test the relative involvement of hopelessness, temperament, childhood trauma, and aggression in suicide risk in a large sample of patients with mood disorders.

Methods: We assessed 306 patients with major depressive and bipolar disorders for clinical characteristics including hopelessness, temperament, childhood trauma, and aggression. We tested their associations with suicidal ideation and acts using standard univariate/bivariate methods, followed by multivariate logistic regression models.

Results: In multivariate analyses, the loss of expectations subscore of the hopelessness scale was associated with lifetime suicidal ideation but not suicide attempt. Childhood emotional abuse, severity of current depression, and female gender were associated with lifetime suicide attempts, whereas hyperthymic temperament was protective. Only hyperthymic temperament differentiated patients with a history of suicidal ideas vs. those with a history of suicide attempt.

Conclusions: Findings support the association of hopelessness with suicidal ideation and point to considering in suicidal acts not only depression, but also childhood emotional abuse, hyperthymic temperament, and gender.