My Reasons for Living: A Descriptive Study of the Motives for Not Committing Suicide Among Patients Diagnosed With Schizophrenia.

Abstract

Background and objective Reasons for Living (RFL) constitute a construct that enables identifying the reasons for not committing suicide. These reasons are based on significant aspects of life, on the commitment to some ideals which may inhibit the impulse of committing suicide. The present study aimed to explore the RFL in a sample of patients with chronic schizophrenia; analyze the associationof RFL with the duration of illness, previous suicide attempts, hospitalizations, and schooling; and describe the potential differences between male and female patients in this context. Materials and methods A total of 94 patients with schizophrenia were assessed. TheReasons for Living Inventory (RFLI) was applied and a structured interview for clinical and sociodemographic data was performed to gather data. Frequencies and descriptive statistics were calculated, and Spearman's correlation analysis was employed. Results The mean score among thesample was 3.9, with 3.8 as the cut-off point under which the presence of suicide risk is significant. The RFLsindicated as most important by patients were those in the domains of Survival and Coping Beliefs and Responsibility to Family. Non-significant differenceswere observed between groups. An association was observed in terms of age, duration of illness, number of hospitalizations, and RFLI scores. Conclusions The sample in the present study obtained high scores in the RFL domain of Survival and Coping Beliefs and low scores in the domain of Fear of Suicide, reflecting aspecific response pattern that contrasts with other high suicidal-risk populations. We suggest that this construct could represent a protective factor for schizophrenia patients, including chronic patients with previous suicide attempts and high hospitalization rates, which were common variables observed in our clinical sample.