and suicide attempts. Phi chi-square tests revealed associations between the three binary variables. A binary logistic regression analysis revealed that verbal ...
The Influence of Violence in Childhood Home on Suicide Attempts M. Justin Miller, M.S. – Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
Mary M. York , MSW – Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
Abstract Prior research has been inconsistent in regard to the types of Table 1. Phi chi-square tests of association. childhood experiences with violence that increase depression Suicide Attempts Physical Violence Verbal Violence and suicidal tendencies in adult life. Whereas some studies Suicide Attempts have found that verbal violence in the childhood home Physical Violence .176* increase these risks (Alloy et al., 1999; Locke & Newcomb, Verbal Violence .274** .610** 2005), other studies have found that physical violence in the childhood home increases the risk for suicide attempts Note. *p < .01, **p < .001. (Hardt et al., 2008). An exploratory study was conducted using three binary variables to test the effects of physical violence and verbal violence in the childhood home on suicide Method attempts. As part of a larger study on hostility, impulsivity, Participants and Procedure and suicide, 286 undergraduate students completed a 78-item Data collection was completed in two phases as part of a larger project on hostility, impulsivity, and suicide survey. Three dichotomous items measured physical violence (Miller & Carducci, 2015). Participants were 286 undergraduate students enrolled in 13 sections of an in the childhood home, verbal violence in the childhood home, introductory psychology course at a Midwestern university. The participants were recruited via Sona Systems and suicide attempts. Phi chi-square tests revealed associations and completed the survey on Qualtrics, an online survey platform. Participants were between 18 to 72 years old between the three binary variables. A binary logistic regression (Mdn = 24 years old) and mostly female (76.29%). Physical violence in the childhood home, verbal violence in analysis revealed that verbal violence in the childhood home the childhood home, and suicide attempts were each measured with one item on an online survey. These three had an effect on suicide attempts but, physical violence did not. items had dichotomous (yes/no) response options. The survey consisted of 75 additional items, including eight Overall, this study adds to the body of literature on childhood items from the hostility subscale on the Aggression Questionnaire (Buss & Perry, 1992). The 59-item UPPS-P influences of suicide. Taken together, this body of literature Impulsive Behavior Scale by Lynam, Smith, Whiteside, and Cyders (2006) was also included in the survey to will show the importance of educational initiatives for mental measure overall impulsivity and five facets of impulsivity, which were lack of premeditation, lack of health support for both children and parents. Longitudinal perseverance, negative urgency, positive urgency, and sensation seeking. There were eight additional studies of such support programs may show a reduced risk in demographic items, including basic demographic items (i.e., age, gender, education level, marital status, and suicide. sexual orientation), items assessing diagnosis of a mental disorder and use of medication, and an item about alcohol use. The participants viewed the survey in the same order. The participants first viewed the demographic Introduction section, then the Aggression Questionnaire and UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale. Suicide is a public health concern that is among the 10 leading causes of death in the United States with an annual age-adjusted Results suicide rate of 13.42 per 100,000 individuals (American In the sample, 48.25% of participants experienced verbal violence in their childhood home, 28.67% experienced Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 2016). A growing body of physical violence in their childhood home, and 17.48% attempted suicide. In addition, 27.62% of participants research demonstrates that adverse childhood experiences experienced more than one form of violence in their childhood home. Phi chi-squares were conducted to test the (ACEs), including violence, are associated with long-term associations between the dichotomous variables (see Table 1). There was a significant association between negative effects, such as an increased risk of suicide attempts (Dube et al., 2001; Hardt et al., 2008). Research has also shown physical violence in the childhood home and suicide attempts, φ = .176, p = .003. Verbal violence in the childhood home was also significantly associated with suicide attempts, φ = .274, p < .001. Physical violence in that exposure to verbal violence leads to an increased risk for depression (Alloy et al., 1999), and that verbal violence is a risk the childhood home and verbal violence in the childhood home were also significantly associated, φ = .610, p < .001. Proportions of suicide attempts for physical violence and verbal violence in childhood home are presented factor for suicide attempts (Locke & Newcomb, 2005). Whereas, other research has shown physical violence to be a risk in Table 2. factor for suicide attempts (Hardt et al., 2008). However, these past studies have commonly used national survey data, which typically does not capture unreported instances of household Table 2. Proportions of individuals attempting suicide by physical and verbal violence in the childhood violence or suicide attempts (Fuller-Thomson, Baird, Dhrodia, home. & Brennenstuhl, 2016; Joiner et al., 2006). Further, most of this Suicide Attempt prior research has not examined the effects physical violence Yes No and verbal violence in the childhood home on suicidality Physical Violence in Yes 23 (28.05%) 59 (71.95%) simultaneously. In the current exploratory study, the aim was to Childhood Home No 27 (13.24%) 177 (86.76%) address these gaps in the literature by examining the Verbal Violence in Yes 39 (28.26%) 99 (71.74%) associations between verbal violence in the childhood home, No 11 (7.43%) 137 (92.57%) physical violence in the childhood home, and suicide attempts in Childhood Home a sample of college students.
Results (continued) A binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to test the effects of physical violence and verbal violence in the childhood home on suicide attempts. The Hosmer and Lemeshow test was conducted to test goodness of fit for the logistic model. The model fit the data, Hosmer and Lemeshow χ2 (8) = 12.900, p = .115. Given the exploratory nature of the study, the enter method was utilized for the binary logistic regression. Age and gender were controlled by entering the variables as covariates. Respectively, Cox and Snell R2 and Nagelkerke R2 revealed that the overall model accounted for 8.8% to 14.6% of variance in suicide attempts, χ2 (4) = 26.001, p < .001. Age (Wald χ2 (1) = .231, p = .630) and gender (Wald χ2 (1) = 2.258, p = .133) had no effect on suicide attempts. The Wald criterion demonstrated that only verbal violence in the childhood home had an effect on suicide attempts, Wald χ2 (1) = 11.817, p = .001. Physical violence in the childhood home had no effect suicide attempts, Wald χ2 (1) = .355, p = .551. Discussion Results from the present study indicate that verbal violence, but not physical violence, in the childhood home has an effect on suicide attempts, which is consistent with prior research by Locke & Newcomb (2005). The findings herein extend the line of research exploring the association between verbal violence and suicide attempts by utilizing data from an undergraduate student sample in the Midwest. These findings contribute to the suicidality literature by highlighting the imperativeness of researching verbal violence in the childhood home, as well as mechanisms by which verbal violence may influence risk for negative psychological outcomes, including suicide. Implications of this body of literature are for policy development and educational initiatives to train both children and parents to recognize signs of verbal violence, as well as appropriate strategies to cope with psychological repercussions from such violence. Further, schools can offer mental health support for families, like a contact for family counseling, to prevent or reduce violence in the home. Future longitudinal studies should examine the success of such support programs for reducing suicide. Furthering our understanding of the impact of verbal violence on mental health, and the impact of support programs for reducing violence in homes, can be instrumental for both researchers and clinicians to address the persistent health concern of suicide in the United States. References Alloy, L. B., Abramson, L. Y., Whitehouse, W. G., Hogan, M. E., Tashman, N. A., Steinberg, D. L., … Donovan, P. (1999). Depressogenic cognitive styles: Predictive validity, information processing and personality characteristics, and developmental origins. Behavior Research and Therapy, 37, 503-531. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (2016). Suicide statistics. Retrieved from https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicidestatistics/ Buss, A. H., & Perry, M. (1992). The aggression questionnaire. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63(3), 452-459. Dube, S. R., Anda, R. F., Felitti, V. J., Chapman, D. P., Williamson, D. F., Giles, W. H. (2001). Childhood abuse, household dysfunction, and the risk of attempted suicide throughout life span: Findings from the adverse childhood experiences study. Journal of the American Medical Association, 286(24), 3089-3096. Fuller-Thomson, E., Baird, S. L., Dhrodia, R., & Brennenstuhl, S. (2016). The association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and suicide attempts in a population-based study. Child: Care, Health and Development, 42(5), 725-734. Hardt, J., Sidor, A., Nickel, R., Kappis, B., Petrak, P., Egle, U. T. (2008). Childhood adversities and suicide attempts: A retrospective study. Journal of Family Violence, 23, 713-718. Locke, T. F., & Newcomb, M. D. (2005). Psychosocial predictors and correlates of suicidality in teenage Latino males. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 27(3), 309-336. Lynam, D.R., Smith, G.T., Whiteside, S.P., & Cyders, M.A. (2006). The UPPS-P: Assessing five personality pathways to impulsive behavior. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University. Miller, M. J. & Carducci, B. J. (2015, May). The relationship of cognitive hostility and high impulsivity to suicide attempts. Poster presented at the 2015 Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.
