The role of impulsivity in self-mutilators, suicide ideators and suicide attempters - a study of 1265 male incarcerated individuals.
OBJECTIVE
We explored differences between high and low-impulsive incarcerated individuals in the context of lifetime self-mutilation, suicide ideation and suicide attempt.


METHODS
A total of 1265 males detained in Italian penitentiary institutions were studied between January 2006 and December 2008. The study raters were specifically trained to discriminate between suicide attempters, ideators and self-mutilators. Participants completed the Barratt Impulsivity Scale, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Brown-Goodwin Assessment for Lifetime History of Aggression (BGLHA) and Buss and Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI). Based on BIS 7 total score distribution, two extreme quarters - high-impulsive group (n=306) and low-impulsive group (n=285) - were compared.


RESULTS
Over 42% of participants had lifetime suicide ideation, 13% attempted suicide and 17% were self-mutilators. High-impulsive subjects were younger, more often single and with more prominent psychoticism, extraversion, aggression, hostility and resilience capacity. They were more frequently diagnosed with substance use disorders and engaged in self-mutilating behaviour. There was no difference in the rate of suicide attempts between the two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Although high-impulsive subjects were more prone to suicidal behaviour, it was not predicted by higher impulsivity when other psychological variables were accounted for.
Carli
Vladimir
V
University of Molise, Department of Health Sciences, Loc. Tappino, Campobasso, Italy.
Jovanović
Nikolina
N
Podlesek
Anja
A
Roy
Alec
A
Rihmer
Zoltan
Z
Maggi
Stefania
S
Marusic
Dragan
D
Cesaro
Caterina
C
Marusic
Andrej
A
Sarchiapone
Marco
M
D000328:Adult; D015897:Comorbidity; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012652:Self Mutilation / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data