TY - JOUR
T1 - Personality as a mediator of demographic risk factors for suicide attempts in a community sample
AU - Grucza, Richard A.
AU - Przybeck, Thomas R.
AU - Cloninger, C. Robert
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (K01 DA 16618 RAG); National Institute of Mental Health (T32 MH17104, RAG, former trainee, Linda B Cottler, PI), and the Center for Psychobiology of Personality and Sansone Family Center for Well-Being, Washington University School of Medicine (CRC, Director).
PY - 2005
Y1 - 2005
N2 - The aim of this study was to determine whether personality might partially explain associations between sociodemographic factors and self-reported suicide attempts. This analysis was motivated by reports that certain personality traits are logical targets for intervention, whereas sociodemographic characteristics are not generally modifiable. Data were from a postal survey sent to community residents who were previously selected at random (N = 912). Age, gender, health-insurance status, education, self-reported health, and marital history were identified as relevant sociodemographic predictors of having made one or more lifetime suicide attempts. Risk associated with each of these variables was mediated by the personality traits of self-directedness (SD) and harm avoidance (HA). In a multiple logistic-regression analysis constrained to sociodemographic predictors, only young age, female sex, poor self-reported health, and Medicaid status remained as predictors of suicide attempts. When personality factors were added to the model, all of the sociodemographic predictors except Medicaid status were rendered nonsignificant or marginally significant. Risk associated with gender was primarily related to HA, risk associated with poor self-reported health was mediated by both HA and SD, and the risk associated with young age was primarily mediated by SD; the last was the largest mediation effect observed. In contrast, risk associated with receipt of Medicaid, presumed to indicate low socioeconomic status, was not mediated by personality. We conclude that risk associated with certain nonmodifiable demographic factors is often mediated by potentially modifiable intrapersonal factors, such as SD.
AB - The aim of this study was to determine whether personality might partially explain associations between sociodemographic factors and self-reported suicide attempts. This analysis was motivated by reports that certain personality traits are logical targets for intervention, whereas sociodemographic characteristics are not generally modifiable. Data were from a postal survey sent to community residents who were previously selected at random (N = 912). Age, gender, health-insurance status, education, self-reported health, and marital history were identified as relevant sociodemographic predictors of having made one or more lifetime suicide attempts. Risk associated with each of these variables was mediated by the personality traits of self-directedness (SD) and harm avoidance (HA). In a multiple logistic-regression analysis constrained to sociodemographic predictors, only young age, female sex, poor self-reported health, and Medicaid status remained as predictors of suicide attempts. When personality factors were added to the model, all of the sociodemographic predictors except Medicaid status were rendered nonsignificant or marginally significant. Risk associated with gender was primarily related to HA, risk associated with poor self-reported health was mediated by both HA and SD, and the risk associated with young age was primarily mediated by SD; the last was the largest mediation effect observed. In contrast, risk associated with receipt of Medicaid, presumed to indicate low socioeconomic status, was not mediated by personality. We conclude that risk associated with certain nonmodifiable demographic factors is often mediated by potentially modifiable intrapersonal factors, such as SD.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=17444412256&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.comppsych.2004.08.006
DO - 10.1016/j.comppsych.2004.08.006
M3 - Article
C2 - 16021592
AN - SCOPUS:17444412256
SN - 0010-440X
VL - 46
SP - 214
EP - 222
JO - Comprehensive Psychiatry
JF - Comprehensive Psychiatry
IS - 3
ER -