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The association between partner and non-partner aggression and suicidal ideation in patients seeking substance use
Mark A Ilgen1, Steve T Chermack, Regan Murray
1Department of Veterans Affairs, Health Services Research & Development, 2215 Fuller Road (11H), Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA. marki@umich.edu
Objective:
The present study was designed to examine the relationship between prior partner and non-partner aggression and suicidal ideation in patients seeking drug and alcohol treatment.
Method:
Patients entering drug and alcohol treatment (n=488) were screened for prior partner and non-partner aggression as well as recent suicidal thoughts. We examined the association between aggression and suicidal ideation in bivariate and multivariate models.
Results:
Within the past two weeks, 33% (159/488) of the sample reported suicidal ideation. In bivariate analyses, neither psychological nor physical aggression towards a non-partner was related to suicidal ideation. Partner psychological aggression was related to suicidal ideation in bivariate but not multivariate analyses. Physical aggression towards a partner was consistently related to higher rates of suicidal ideation even after controlling for other known risk factors (OR=1.8; CI=1.1-2.7). Mediational analyses indicate that this relationship was no longer significant after accounting for current negative affect.
Conclusion:
Suicidal ideation is common in patients seeking drug and alcohol treatment and particularly likely in those who report prior aggression towards a partner.
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