Forms of parasuicide in young people in Bosnia.

OBJECTIVE

This study is an investigation of parasuicidal presentations in young people in Bosnia during the period from 1992 to 2004. The other aims were: an analysis of the stress as well as the personal and emotional traits of suicidal subjects.

METHODS

Two groups of young people were investigated: 90 with parasuicidal caracteristics and 90 controls who had experienced emotional and behavioral crises during adolescence. The study is longitudinal and stratified according to the qualities of the parasuicidal behaviour. The tests used in this study (LOP, Ci, CMI, EPQ-98 and P.I.E.) are statistically elaborated by standard descriptive and analytical methods.

RESULTS

The results show the following factors to be highly significant: destruction and violence inside the families (p < 0.001) as well as migration and heredity (p < 0.05). Discriminative analysis (rc) confirmed group difference in neuroticism = 0.95541, F=38.321 with significance factor of p < 0.001. EPQ test in parasuicidal subjects shows high level of neuroticism and psychoticism while controls show extroversion and conformism. Canonical Fcn = 0.6634, rc = 0.771, df = 4 chi(2) = 85.73, p < 0.001. P.I.E. clearly differentiated parasuicidal group from adolescent, control group: Hi quadrant test chi(2) = 101.361 and statistical significance p < 0.001. Results show: 1. suicide: n = 7 (7.7%), parasuicide: n = 84 (43.6%) and maturation: n = 89 (48.9%).

CONCLUSION

Representation of parasuicidal behaviour was found in both groups of examinees, but the forms are more represented in parasuicide. Sociodemographic difference between the examined groups was proved, and stress, personal and emotional structures of parasuicide were confirmed by discrimination analysis. Auto-destructivity shows even quicker forms of destruction and longer forms of self-destruction.