Flowers Kelci C, Walker Rheeda L, Thompson Martie P, Kaslow Nadine J
*Department of Psychology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA; †Department of Psychology, The University of Houston, Houston, TX; ‡Department of Public Health Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC; and §Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.
J Nerv Ment Dis. 2014 Aug;202(8):569-75. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000000170.
African-American women are at high risk for suicide ideation and suicide attempts and use emergency psychiatric services at disproportionately high rates relative to men and other ethnic groups. However, suicide death rates are low for this population. Cultural variables in the African-American community may promote resilience and prevent fatal suicidal behavior among African-American women. The present study evaluated self-reported reasons for living as a protective factor against suicidal intent and suicide attempt lethality in a sample of African-American female suicide attempters (n = 150). Regression analyses revealed that reasons for living were negatively associated with suicidal intent, even after controlling for spiritual well-being and symptoms of depression. These results indicate that the ability to generate and contemplate reasons for valuing life may serve as a protective characteristic against life-threatening suicidal behavior among African-American women. Implications for research and clinical practice are further discussed.
非裔美国女性有很高的自杀意念和自杀未遂风险，并且相对于男性和其他种族群体，她们使用紧急精神科服务的比例高得不成比例。然而，该人群的自杀死亡率较低。非裔美国人社区的文化变量可能会增强心理韧性，并预防非裔美国女性出现致命的自杀行为。本研究评估了在一个非裔美国女性自杀未遂样本（n = 150）中，自我报告的生存理由作为预防自杀意念和自杀未遂致死率的保护因素。回归分析显示，即使在控制了精神健康状况和抑郁症状之后，生存理由与自杀意念仍呈负相关。这些结果表明，产生并思考珍视生命的理由的能力，可能是预防非裔美国女性出现危及生命的自杀行为的一种保护特质。文中进一步讨论了该研究对研究和临床实践的启示。
