1. Migration trauma, substance use and psychiatric features associated to suicide attempts and self-harm behaviours of detained migrants.
- Author
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Artoni, C., Marchi, M., Magarini, F., Longo, F., Reggianini, C., Florio, D., Galeazzi, G., and Ferrari, S.
- Subjects
ATTEMPTED suicide ,SUBSTANCE abuse ,WAR trauma ,PSYCHIATRIC diagnosis ,MENTAL illness ,POST-traumatic stress disorder - Abstract
Introduction: According to the WHO, detainees attempt suicide ten times more than the general population. Objectives: To investigate the impact of migration traumas on suicide behaviours of migrants in jail and to explore how substance use and other psychiatric features affect this relation. Methods: Prospective cohort study, conducted at "Sant'Anna" jail in Modena (Italy). Socio-demographic, psychiatric features and previous suicide attempts were collected, and traumas assessed with the LiMEs (List of Migration Experiences) checklist. Every participant was followed-up until an episode of suicide behaviour or to September 2019 (end of study). Survival analysis was performed. Cox's Hazard Ratios were used as a measure of association for the comparison between groups. Results: We recruited 113 subject, 96% male, median age 33. Prevalence of mental disorders was 26% and substance abuse 59%. History of self-harm was present in 36% of the sample. Median follow-up time was 80 days. During follow-up, 11 events were observed (8 self-harm and 3 suicide attempts); cumulative survival probability was 85% (Figure 1). Having experienced traumas related to wars was significantly associated with suicide behaviours, HR: 5.168 (Figure 2, Figure 3). Interestingly, no subject without substance abuse presented the outcome. Conclusions: Migrants in custody who experienced traumas in the post-migration periods, attempt suicide 5 timesmore frequently than those without traumas at any time. War traumas seem to be more strongly associated with suicide attempts, also controlling for psychiatric diagnosis, ongoing psychopharmacological therapy and substance abuse. Further research and possible intervention programs should focus on addressing post-migration living-difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020