Resilience to suicidal thoughts and behaviours in psychosis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Examining the experiences of psychological resilience to suicidal thoughts and behaviours in people with psychosis
IRAS ID
211336
Contact name
Kamelia Harris
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Schizophrenia is a severe mental health problem which affects approximately 800,000 people worldwide (World Health Organisation, 2016). Having a schizophrenia diagnosis increases the risk of premature mortality (Walker, McGee, & Druss, 2015). The estimated lifetime risk of suicide is between 5% and 10% in people diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (Hor & Taylor, 2010). This shows that suicide in this diagnostic group represents a major health concern.
There are several factors which increase the risk of suicide in people with schizophrenia, including sex, age, unemployment (Chan et al., 2016), hopelessness (Pompili et al., 2007), depression (Hor & Taylor, 2010), external and internal stressors (e.g., family stress, paranoia; Pompili et al., 2007; Roy et al., 2016). Although it is important to identify which risk factors contribute to suicide, it does not provide a complete understanding of the factors underlying suicidal thoughts and behaviours in schizophrenia (Bolton et al., 2007; Laursen, Nordentoft, & Mortensen, 2014). Reducing risk, while simultaneously developing resilience, is an important step in suicide prevention (Beckham, & Elbogen, 2013). However, resilience has not been studied as rigorously nor as frequently as risk factors (Malla & Payne, 2005). No qualitative study to date has explored individual experiences of resilience to suicidal thoughts and behaviours in schizophrenia. The goal of this PhD is to further the understanding of the relationship between resilience and suicidal thoughts and behaviours in people with schizophrenia.
This is the first study within this programme of research. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted to allow participants to talk about their own experiences. This will contribute to our understanding of how resilience impacts on the relationship between suicide risk and suicidal thoughts and behaviours. Findings from this study will then inform the design of the subsequent planned studies.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/NW/0211
Date of REC Opinion
25 Apr 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion