Cross-sectional study on the psychosocial factors, the severity of depression, and coping strategies among patients attempting suicide

Abstract

Background: With around 10-20 million individuals attempting suicide each year, suicide attempts have been considered a significant public health issue. A significant fraction of it is caused by depression. Life events and other psychosocial stressors were frequently linked to both depression and suicidal behavior. Coping strategies are cognitive, emotional, and behavioral approaches used to lessen and cope with the negative impacts of stressful situations.

Aim: This study aimed to find the psychosocial factors, the severity of depression, and coping strategies among patients attempting suicide.

Materials and methods: Study design: This study was a hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional study. A total of 120 consecutive cases were selected using Patient Health Questionnaire 2 (PHQ-2) scales and assessed for severity of depression and coping strategies using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and Coping Orientation to Problem Experienced Inventory (Brief-COPE) scales, respectively. Pearson's Chi-square or Fisher's exact test and independent-samples t-test have been performed to see the association between categorical and continuous variables. The Pearson correlation coefficient has been used to see the relationship between two continuous variables.

Results: Most of the cases (33.3%) were found to be severely depressed. Among all the cases, the majority, that is, 90.8%, were using avoidant-type coping strategies and only 9.2% were using approach-type coping strategies. A significant positive correlation between the avoidant-type coping strategy and depression and a negative correlation between the approach-type coping strategy and depression was found.

Conclusion: Patients with depression attempting suicide were found to utilize avoidant-type coping strategies to cope with life stresses. Hence, it is crucial to place greater emphasis on assessing coping strategies and focus on teaching approach-oriented coping strategies as a means to prevent suicidal attempts.

Keywords: Attempted suicide; coping strategy; depression.