The Role of Childhood Trauma, Psychosocial Stress, and Interpersonal Conflicts in the Prediction of Suicide Attempt with the Mediating Factor of Physical Health:A Descriptive Study

Suicide is one of the causes of death all over the world, which causes a long-term impact on the family, society, and economy. The purpose of this study was to analyze the trajectory of childhood trauma, psychosocial stress, and interpersonal conflicts in predicting suicide attempts due to physical health.

In a descriptive design, 400 participants aged 18-50 years living in Alborz and Tehran Provinces were selected by the convenience sampling method in the spring of 2020 to the summer of 2021. Data were collected using Bernstein et al’s Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (1994), Ware and Sherbourne’s Health Survey (1992), Cull and Gill’s Suicide Probability Scale (1988), Holmes and Rahe’s Social Readjustment Rating Scale (1967), and Pierce et al’s Quality of Relationship Inventory (1991) and analyzed by path analysis method.

The results showed that childhood trauma (β=0.217, p<0.001) and psychosocial stress (β=0.385, p<0.001) had a positive and significant effect on suicide attempts. Also, the results indicated that interpersonal conflicts had a negative and significant effect on suicide attempts (β=-0.130, p=0.047). In addition, the indirect effects of childhood trauma, psychosocial stress, and interpersonal conflicts on suicide attempts through physical health were significant (p<0.05).

Childhood trauma, psychosocial stress, and interpersonal conflicts can be a risk factor for suicide attempting directly and also with a decrease in physical health. It is recommended that mental health specialists consider these factors in developing preventive and intervention programs in the field of suicide.