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Comparing Suicide Attempters With and Without Mental Disorders: A Study of Young Adults in Rural China

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Abstract

Over 90% of suicides in the West could be diagnosed with mental disorders, while only 50–70% of Chinese suicides had mental disorders. Using data from a case–control study on suicide attempt, we aimed to compare characteristics and risk factors between suicide attempters with and without mental disorders. Demographic and social psychological characteristics were compared between attempters with and without mental disorders. 19.1% of the suicide attempters were diagnosed with mental disorders. Suicide attempters with mental disorders endured more strain than those without. Strain was an independent risk factor for suicide attempt among people without mental disorders. Psychological strain might be an important reason for both mental disorders and following suicide attempt. More efforts on suicide prevention should be spent on people without mental disorders. The impact of social psychological factors, such as religion, negative life events, and psychological strains should be considered.

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Acknowledgements

The research was supported by the United States National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH R01 MH068560) of which the corresponding author is the Principal Investigator.

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None of the funding agencies had any role in study design, in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data, in the writing of the paper or in the decision to submit the paper for publication.

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Correspondence to Jie Zhang.

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Li, N., Zhang, J., Wang, H. et al. Comparing Suicide Attempters With and Without Mental Disorders: A Study of Young Adults in Rural China. Community Ment Health J 56, 1372–1379 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-020-00576-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-020-00576-w

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