Peer-reviewed article
Does child abuse influence the persistence of suicidal ideation in patients with high suicide risk?
Jana Serebriakova, Thomas Forkmann, Jannik Eimen, Sonja Omlor, Cora Spahn et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how child abuse affects whether suicidal thoughts persist over time in people admitted to hospital after a suicide crisis or attempt. Researchers tracked 182 patients using interviews at baseline and text-message surveys over nine months. The study found that people with a history of child abuse were more likely to experience repeated suicidal thoughts both before and after their hospital admission. The findings suggest child abuse is linked to longer-lasting suicidal ideation rather than just increasing the initial risk.
Key points
- Child abuse predicted persistent suicidal ideation in the year before a suicidal crisis or suicide attempt (β = .22, p = .008)
- During the first 3 weeks after discharge, child abuse was associated with greater persistence of passive suicidal ideation (β = .20, p = .030)
- During the 6-month follow-up period, child abuse was linked to higher persistence of active suicidal ideation (β = .21, p = .050)
- The study distinguished between passive suicidal ideation (thoughts about wanting to be dead) and active suicidal ideation (thoughts about harming oneself), showing child abuse affects both differently over time
- Persistence of suicidal ideation was measured by the number of episodes and repeated reports, not just presence or absence
Limitations
The study does not specify which countries the sample was drawn from, and the relatively small sample size (n=182) limits generalizability. The study cannot establish causation or explain the mechanisms through which child abuse leads to persistent suicidal ideation.
Abstract
Background: Child abuse (CA) is a well-established risk factor for suicidal ideation (SI) and suicidal behaviour (SB). However, only few studies have investigated the impact of CA on the persistence of SI over time. Those existing studies have used varying operationalizations to measure the persistence of SI, leading to inconsistent findings.Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the persistence of SI by integrating prospective ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) with retrospective structured interviews within one clinical sample.Method: Patients admitted to psychiatric hospitals following an acute suicidal crisis (n = 75) or recent suicide attempt (n = 107) were assessed shortly after admission and then, after discharge, engaged in a 3-week EMA (EMA phase 1), followed by a 6-month EMA period (EMA phase 2). SI was measured using the Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview at baseline and via EMA prompts during both phases. Persistence was indicated by the number of episodes and repeated reports of SI. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the influence of CA on the persistence of SI.Results: Retrospective interview data showed that CA predicted the persistence of SI over the year before a suicidal crisis or suicide attempt (β = .22, t = 2.67, p = .008). Prospective EMA data indicated that CA was associated with greater persistence of passive SI during EMA phase 1 (β = .20, t = 2.19, p = .030) and with higher persistence of active SI in EMA phase 2 (β = .21, t = 1,99, p = .050).Conclusions: This study shows that CA is linked to greater persistence of SI across different methods and time points. It also highlights the importance of distinguishing between passive and active SI when examining persistence.