Childhood Exposure to Psychological Trauma and the Risk of Suicide Attempts: The Modulating Effect of Psychiatric Disorders

• Published in: Psychiatry investigation Vol. 12; no. 2; pp. 171 - 176
• Main Authors: Park, Subin, Hong, Jin Pyo, Jeon, Hong Jin, Seong, Sujeong, Cho, Maeng Je
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) Korean Neuropsychiatric Association 01.04.2015; 대한신경정신의학회
• Subjects: Original; 정신과학; Suicide; Psychiatric disorders; Trauma
• ISSN: 1738-3684; 1976-3026
• DOI: 10.4306/pi.2015.12.2.171

We examined whether childhood exposure to psychological trauma is associated with greater suicidality and whether specific psychiatric disorders modulate this association in a representative sample of Korean adults. The Korean version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 2.1 was administered to 6,027 subjects aged 18-74 years. Subjects who experienced a traumatic event before the age of 18 years, the childhood-trauma-exposure group, were compared with controls without childhood trauma exposure. Childhood exposure to psychological trauma was associated with lifetime suicidal ideation (OR=3.19, 95% CI=2.42-4.20), suicide plans (OR=4.15, 95% CI=2.68-6.43), and suicide attempts (OR=4.52, 95% CI=2.97-6.88). These associations weakened after further adjustment for any psychiatric disorders, but they were not eliminated. The risk of suicide attempts related to childhood trauma increased with the presence of a concurrent alcohol use, depressive, or eating disorder. In terms of clinical implications, patients with these disorders who have a history of childhood trauma should be carefully assessed for their suicide risk and aggressively treated for psychiatric disorders.