Abstract
:Background:Despite considerable loss of life by deliberate self-burning in low and middle-income countries, few scholars have examined psychiatric factors such as adverse life events that may be related to self-immolation.Methods:This case-control study investigated adverse life-events as risk factors for self-immolation patients admitted to a burn center serving the western region of Iran. Variables investigated included the following adverse life-events: unplanned pregnancy, infertility, homelessness, financial hardship, problems with friends, intimate relationship break-up , school or university failure, anxiety about school/university performance, problems at work, personal history of suicide attempts, family history of suicide attempts, individual history of mental disorders, and malignant disease.Results:Financial hardship (OR=3.35, 95% CI=1.19-9.90), intimate relationship break-up (OR=5.45, 95% CI=1.20-11.99), and personal history of suicide attempts (OR=7.00, 95% CI=1.38-35.48) were associated with increased risk of self-immolation. Conclusions:This study suggests that financial hardship, intimate relationship break-ups, and personal history of suicide attempts are risk factors for self-immolation. Other variables studied did not play a role as individually protective or risk factors for self-immolation.Further study is needed to substantiate findings of this study and direct research toward tailoring culturally sensitive, empirically-supported interventions for prevention of self-immolation.
Highlights
O n December 17, 2010, a 26-year-old Tunisian man, Mohamed Bouazizi, doused himself in fuel and lit himself on fire as a protest to financial problems and unemployment
This study aimed to investigate the role of adverse life-events in the presentation of self-burning among patients admitted to a regional burn center at Imam Khomeini Hospital in Kermanshah province, in the west of Iran
This study revealed that financial hardship, intimate relationship break-up, and a personal history of previous suicide attempts were significant adverse life event risk factors for self-burning
Summary
O n December 17, 2010, a 26-year-old Tunisian man, Mohamed Bouazizi, doused himself in fuel and lit himself on fire as a protest to financial problems and unemployment This act became a catalyst for a series of political revolutions in Arab countries.[1] Bouazizi’s suicide was performed in a manner unfamiliar. What remains unclear to scientists is the factors that may lead individuals to attempt suicide by self-immolation Knowledge of those factors will play an important role in prevention of this violence act.[3,4,5,6,7]. Conclusions: This study suggests that financial hardship, intimate relationship break-ups, and personal history of suicide attempts are risk factors for self-immolation. Further study is needed to substantiate findings of this study and direct research toward tailoring culturally sensitive, empirically-supported interventions for prevention of self-immolation
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