Evaluation of a modified interview version and of a self-rating version of the Suicide Assessment Scale

The Suicide Assessment Scale (SUAS) was constructed to be sensitive to change of suicidality. It was recently found to be predictive of suicide in a group of suicide attempters. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of a modified interview version of SUAS with defined scores and also a new self-rating version (SUAS-S). The subjects consisted of former inpatients, 42 persons who had been admitted because of a suicide attempt about 12 years ago and 22 control patients. The subjects were rated according to the SUAS, the SUAS-S, as well as the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). The interrater reliability was found to be high. The SUAS correlated significantly with the MADRS, but the concordance was not consistent, which indicates that the SUAS measures something different from depression. The SUAS-S correlated significantly with the interview-rated SUAS, thus exhibiting good concurrent validity. In summary, both the modified interview version of SUAS and the SUAS-S seem to be valid, reliable and easily used suicide assessment instruments.

Disclosure of abuse among female patients within general psychiatric care - a cross sectional study

BACKGROUND

Experiences of abuse are common among women in general psychiatric care. Even so, there are to our knowledge no previous national or international studies exploring disclosure in a general psychiatric setting of female patient's experiences of abuse to staff or to formal and informal networks. This study aimed to explore women's disclosure of experiencing physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse during their most recent contact with staff at a general psychiatric clinic. The study also aimed to determine whether the women have previously disclosed abuse to anyone.

METHODS

A consecutive sampling of eligible female patients at a general psychiatric clinic in an urban area of southern Sweden answered the NorVold Abuse Questionnaire, NorAQ, a self-administrated questionnaire. NorAQ has previously been used and further developed to compare the prevalence of abuse in women present in gynecological outpatient settings in the five Nordic countries. Seventy-seven women with experiences of abuse participated in the research. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data.

RESULTS

Most respondents did not disclose their experiences of abuse to staff at the general psychiatric clinic. Women with experiences of physical abuse (n = 40), emotional abuse (n = 37) and sexual abuse (n = 37) chose not to disclose their experiences. Respondents disclosed abuse more often to others than to staff.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicated the importance of including routine questions concerning abuse experiences as a natural part of female patients' medical history.

The life course of women who have experienced abuse - a life chart study in general psychiatric care

The life chart offers rich information that provides a broader picture of the lives of women who have experienced abuse. Life charts could be useful for nurses identifying women in general psychiatric care who have experienced abuse. Despite experiences of abuse and stressful events during childhood, there were only a few indications of them receiving support in the life charts. Many of the women had as adults been in contact with or received care at numerous healthcare services. Violence against women is a worldwide problem and has an impact on the lives of women and girls. The study aims to investigate the life course of women within psychiatric care who have experienced abuse. The women's resources, stressful events, experience of abuse, perpetrators, mental ill health, and care and support throughout the life course are also highlighted. Eleven women who had all sought general psychiatric care in an urban area in Sweden participated. A computer software program was used for constructing life charts for each participant, and manifest content analysis was used to analyse the data. The women's social status and resources differed, and some of them spoke of only experiencing few stressful events growing up, while others described a stressful childhood. All of the women had been abused sometime during their life course, and most of the perpetrators were known to the women. Even so, the women had seldom disclosed their childhood abuse. As adults, the women were diagnosed with psychiatric diagnoses, and suicidal behaviour increased. The life chart offers rich information and a broader picture of the life history of women who experienced abuse as well as constituting a tool useful for identifying women with experiences of abuse.

Grasping the dynamics of suicidal behaviour: combining time-geographic life charting and COPE ratings

ACCESSIBLE SUMMARY

•  A primary aim of suicide research is to gain a profound knowledge of the suicidal individual so preventive strategy can be formulated. •  Time-geographic life charting used in combination with the pattern of coping strategies may be helpful when assessing risk of suicidal behaviour. •  It can also be a therapeutic intervention to look back and to reflect coping styles.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to explore whether a time-geographic life charting, combined with a survey of a person's coping capacities over time, elucidates the pathway to suicidal behaviour, and therefore could be useful in suicide prevention. Twenty-three patients were recruited shortly after a suicide attempt. A time-geographic life charting and COPE inventory ratings were used separately and in combination. According to COPE ratings, the participants could be divided into three groups using different coping strategies: (1) adaptive, (2) maladaptive, and (3) both adaptive and maladaptive coping. Within these subgroups, three different pathways to suicidal behaviour were described and illustrated. We conclude that time-geographic life charting used in combination with the pattern of coping strategies may be helpful when assessing risk of suicidal behaviour, because this approach strengthens the comprehensive picture of the patient's life situation.

Time geography: a model for psychiatric life charting?

Since many years, life charting has been used to describe the life course and life events of psychiatric patients. The aim of the present study was to describe and evaluate time geographic life charts of 11 former psychiatric patients in order to promote systematic descriptions of their life events over time. Information on all events which was gathered from the life charts was analysed by manifest content analysis and reduced to four categories: information received by asking only about moves, social capacity, predisposing life events and/or stressful as well as precipitating life events. Our findings showed that this kind of life charts offered a comprehensive and structured picture. They describe a detailed life situation from one time period to another, where geographical sites serve as anchors. The patients expressed satisfaction with this method of combining an interview with a time geographic life line.