Violence, runaway, and suicide attempts among people living with schizophrenia in China: Prevalence and correlates

PeerJ

article

Yixiang Long¹  Xiaoliang Tong¹  Michael Awad²  Shijun Xi³  Yu Yu² 

[1] Department of Nursing, Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University;Division of Prevention and Community Research, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine;Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University

关键词: Disruptive behaviors;    Violence;    Runaway;    Suicide;    Schizophrenia;    Prevalence;    Correlates;    China;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.13033

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Background People living with schizophrenia are at higher risk of disruptive behaviors, including violence, running away from home, and suicide attempts, which often co-occur and are highly correlated, yet seldom studied together. The current study investigated the frequency and correlates of disruptive behaviors among a Chinese community sample of individuals living with schizophrenia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 individuals living with schizophrenia from 12 communities. Data about disruptive behaviors in the past 2 months was collected using self-designed questionnaires. Clinical characteristics including psychiatric symptoms, depression, anxiety, disability, and functioning were collected by internationally standardized assessment instruments. Results About one-fifth (21%) of the subjects had experienced at least one form of disruptive behavior in the past 2 months. Violence was the most commonly reported (17.25%), which included damaging property (15%) and physical violence toward others (7.5%); followed by running away (6.5%), and suicide attempts (4%). Logistic regression analysis suggested that medication non-adherence (OR = 4.96, 95% CI [1.79–13.72]), involuntary hospital admission (OR = 5.35, 95% CI [2.06–13.87]), depression (OR = 2.34, 95% CI [1.07–5.10]), and lower social functioning (OR = 0.97, 95% CI [0.93–0.99]) were independently associated with a higher risk of disruptive behaviors. Conclusions The overlap among three forms of disruptive behaviors warrants them to be assessed and studied together in clinical, research, and policy fields. The significant association between disruptive behaviors with medication non-adherence, involuntary admission, depression, and lower social functioning indicates the need for integrated, targeted, and needs-based intervention programs to be developed for the prevention and treatment of these disruptive behaviors.

【 授权许可】

CC BY