Transcript Partner Abuse and Suicidal Behavior in African American Women

 Rational?
• African American women who attempted suicide
were more likely than Caucasian women to have
a history of significant abuse
 Mechanisms
by which partner abuse
leads to suicidal behavior
• Why might this be important?
 African
American women at hospital
following suicide attempt (n=148)
• Mostly unmarried, unemployed, limited literacy
and education
 African
American women at hospital for
medical problems without a suicidal
history (n=137)
• Mostly employed, higher education than
attempters
 Measures
• Hopelessness Scale
• Brief Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST)
• Brief Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST)
• Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)
• Preliminary Strategic Approach to Coping Scale (P-
SACS)
• Family Strengths
• Perceived Social Support (PSS)
 Potential
Issues?
 African
American women who attempted
suicide were more likely to report
physical and nonphysical abuse than
their non attempting counterparts
The IV must be associated with the predicted
mediator
2. The predicted mediator must be associated with
the DV
3. When statistically controlled for; association
between the IV and DV should be non-significant
or significantly reduced.
1.
Psychological Distress
Psychological
Distress
Partner Abuse
Suicide
Attempt
HOPELESSNESS
DRUG USE PROBLEMS
Drug Use
Problem
Hopelessness
Partner Abuse
Suicide
Attempt
Partner
Abuse
Suicide
Attempt
1. The interaction between the IV and the
predicted moderator must be significant
when predicting the outcome variable
Example: The interaction between partner
abuse and coping skills must be
significant when predicting suicide
attempt status
 Social
support moderated the partner
abuse-suicide behavior link.
Suicide
Attempt
Partner
Abuse
Social
Support
 Nonphysical
partner abuse provided
predictive utility for suicide attempt
status beyond that already accounted for
by childhood maltreatment
 Physical partner abuse did not
 Importance
in assessing for suicide in
women who are currently victims of IPV
 Evaluating hopelessness and
psychological distress in women who are
current victims of IPV
 Including the development of social
supports in treatment with women who
are current victims of IPV