title: Attempted suicide, self-harm, and violent victimization among regular illicit drug users.
abstract: Relationships among attempted suicide, nonsuicidal self-harm, and physical assault were examined in 400 regular users of heroin and/or psychostimulants. Twenty-eight percent had episodes of nonsuicidal self-harm, 32% had attempted suicide, and 95% had been violently assaulted. The number of suicide attempts and nonsuicidal self-harm incidents were correlated (ρ = 0.44). There were also significant correlations between the number of assaults and nonsuicidal self-harm incidents (ρ = 0.17), and suicide attempts (ρ = 0.27). The mean age onset for non-suicidal self-harm (18.9 yrs) was significantly younger than that of initial suicide (22.3 yrs). The age at initial physical assault (16.0yrs) was significantly younger than that of nonsuicidal self-harm and initial suicide attempt. Screening for all forms of violence appears warranted when determining suicide risk for this population.
authors.affiliation: National and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Australia. s.darke@unsw.edu.au
authors.forename: Shane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Darke
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Torok
authors.forename: Sharlene
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaye
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ross
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055030:Drug Users / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012737:Sex Factors; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult