Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Addiction and Mental Health, Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, Canada.
J Ment Health. 2021 Apr;30(2):170-178. doi: 10.1080/09638237.2021.1875417. Epub 2021 Feb 1.
Suicidal ideation can be triggered or exacerbated by psychosocial stressors including natural disasters and pandemics.
This study investigated prevalence rates and demographic and clinical correlates of self-reported passive death wishes and thoughts of self-harm among Canadians subscribing to Text4Hope; a daily supportive text message program.
A survey link was sent out to Text4Hope subscribers. Demographic information was captured and clinical data collected using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7-item (GAD-7) scale, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Data were analysed with descriptive analysis, the chi-square test, and logistic regression.
Responders showed an increase in prevalence rates for passive death wish and thoughts of self-harm compared to baseline Canadian statistics on suicidality. Responders aged ⩽25years, Indigenous, had less than high school education, unemployed, single, living with family, with increased anxiety, disordered sleep, and recent concerns about germs and contamination were at greatest risk.
Our results indicate that suicidal thoughts may have increased in the general population as a result of COVID-19 and signals an urgent need for public education on appropriate health seeking methods and increased access to mental and social support especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and its immediate aftermath.
自杀意念可能会被自然灾害和大流行病等社会心理压力因素触发或加剧。
本研究调查了订阅 Text4Hope（一个每日支持短信计划）的加拿大人中自我报告的被动死亡愿望和自残想法的流行率以及人口统计学和临床相关性。
向 Text4Hope 订阅者发送了调查链接。使用感知压力量表（PSS）、广泛性焦虑症 7 项量表（GAD-7）和患者健康问卷 9 项量表（PHQ-9）收集人口统计学信息和临床数据。采用描述性分析、卡方检验和逻辑回归进行数据分析。
与加拿大自杀率的基线统计数据相比，应答者的被动死亡愿望和自残想法的流行率有所增加。年龄 ⩽25 岁、原住民、受教育程度低于高中、失业、单身、与家人同住、焦虑程度增加、睡眠紊乱以及最近对细菌和污染的担忧的应答者风险最高。
我们的结果表明，由于 COVID-19，普通人群中的自杀念头可能有所增加，这表明迫切需要开展公众教育，宣传适当的寻求健康方法，并增加获得精神和社会支持的机会，尤其是在 COVID-19 大流行及其直接后果期间。
