Childhood adversity and severity of positive symptoms as predictors of suicidality controlling for sociodemographics among hospitalized patients diagnosed with schizophrenia in Jordan
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the predictive power of childhood adversity and severity of positive symptoms on suicidality, controlling for selected sociodemographics factors, among hospitalized patients diagnosed with schizophrenia in Jordan.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a descriptive-explorative design. The study was conducted at two major psychiatric hospitals in Jordan. The targeted sample was 66 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Data was collected using a structured format in the period February–April 2024.
Findings
A two-step multiple hierarchical regression analysis was conducted. In the first model, childhood adversity and the severity of positive symptoms were entered. In the second model, sociodemographic variables were entered. The analysis revealed that the first model (F = 5.35, p = 0.007) was statistically significant. The second model (F = 717, p < 0.001) was statistically significant. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that childhood adversity was not a significant predictor for suicidality. However, positive symptoms and patients’ demographics (age, number of hospitalizations and length of being diagnosed with schizophrenia) were significant predictors of suicidality. The analysis revealed that childhood adversity was not a significant predictor of suicidality. However, positive symptoms and patients’ demographics (age, number of hospitalizations and length of being diagnosed with schizophrenia) were significant predictors of suicidality.
Research limitations/implications
One limitation of this study is related to the sample and the setting where there were only 66 patients recruited from governmental hospitals within inpatient wards. Thus, the upcoming studies should include more participants from private hospitals and different hospital settings including outpatient and emergency departments.
Practical implications
The research provides empirical insights that positive symptoms, age hospitalization and schizophrenia diagnosis length were significant predictors of suicidality. At the same time, childhood adversity was not a significant predictor of suicidality.
Social implications
The current research contributes to expanding mental health studies. Moreover, this study enlarges the body of knowledge in the academic world and clinical settings. It supports the disciplines of psychology, mental health and social sciences by increasing knowledge of the complicated relationships among childhood adversity, positive symptoms and suicidality.
Originality/value
This paper fulfills an identified need to study childhood adversity with comorbid psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, as well as psychiatric mental health covariates.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study was conducted as part of PhD requirement. The authors acknowledge the support of the School of Nursing at the University of Jordan.
Funding: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Declarations
Conflict of interest: The author(s) declare(s) that they have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Consent for publication: written informed consent was obtained from all participants included in this study.
Availability of data and materials: the data sets generated and analyzed during the current study are available with the corresponding author [MA] and can be provided on a reasonable request according to institutional review board approval restrictions.
Human and animal rights: no animals were used in this research. All human research procedures followed were under the ethical standards of the committee responsible for human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1964, as revised in 2009 and its amendments.
Citation
Aldaieflih, M.M., Haddad, R.H. and Hamdan-Mansour, A.M. (2024), "Childhood adversity and severity of positive symptoms as predictors of suicidality controlling for sociodemographics among hospitalized patients diagnosed with schizophrenia in Jordan", Mental Health and Social Inclusion, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-05-2024-0068
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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