Childhood violence, experience of loss and hurtin close relationships at adulthood and emotional rejection as risk factors of suicide attempts among women

Abstract

Aim. The aim of the article is to present results of the qualitative research about the risk of suicide attempts accomplished by women who were undergoing psychiatric treatment. The research focused on traumatic childhood experiences, close relationships, and traumatic life events in adulthood. There were emotional states during the time of suicide attempt and methods of suicide acts described too. Methods. A group of 35 adult women were submitted to the research. These were women who were undergoing psychiatric treatment and had undertaken a suicide attempt. The following measures were used in the study: (1) Psychological interview including questions regarding three groups of issues: childhood traumatic events, difficult experiences in adult life, and emotional states and methods of undertaking suicide attempts. (2) Attachment style test, method developed by Shaver, Hazan, Bradshaw (1987). Results. The study revealed that women, who attempted suicide, experienced mainly violence and abuse in their childhood, loss of close romantic relationships and partners’ violence in adulthood. These women felt social rejection at the time of attempting suicide, and they mainly tried to overdose medicines to commit suicide acts. Conclusion. Women from the study group were characterized by avoidant attachment style and had variety of traumatic and harmful experiences during their lifetime. These features may have influenced the wish of autodestruction among the examined women and established undertaking suicide attempts by them as non-verbal calling for help.