Suicidal ideation, marital discord, and decrease effective relations among women from Iran

Abstract

Objective: Interpersonal conflicts, such as marital conflicts are among the most commonly-reported reasons for self-harm and suicide. This study aimed to investigating suicidal ideation, marital discord, and decrease effective relations among women from Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with participation of 923 married women aged 18 to 59 years from Gilan-e Gharb County, the west part of Iran in 2017. Data gathering tool was a four part questionnaire included questions about participant's demographic variables, Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation, questionnaire of Decrease Effective Relations in spouses, and questions about marital discord. Data were analyzed with SPSS 19 software, using Independent T-test, and Chi square at a 95% confidence level. Results: The subjects’ mean age was 37.28±9.58 years. Out of 923 participants, 345 women (37.4%) had some degree of suicidal ideation. The mean score of suicidal ideation in all of participants was 5.84±7.55 while in 345 suicide ideators was 15.1±3.4. Women with suicidal ideation had higher mean score of Decrease Effective Relations compared to women without suicidal ideation. Also three items of marital discord including conflict with spouse, physical conflict with the spouse and official application for divorce, were higher in suicidal ideators significantly. Conclusion: The present study concluded that suicidal ideation and decrease effective relations were high and notable among understudied women. Also this study showed that decrease effective relations and marital discord in suicidal ideators are higher than the women without suicidal ideation. Therefore the further studies are recommended to focus on designing and delivering suicide prevention programs tailored to resolve marital conflict.