The association of social, economic, and health-related variables with suicidal and/or self-harm thoughts in individuals admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit during the COVID-19 pandemic: An exploratory study.
Psychiatry Res
; 319: 114998, 2023 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2150447
ABSTRACT
Individuals with pre-existing psychiatric diagnoses appear to be vulnerable to worsening mental health symptoms during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Furthermore, psychiatric hospitalizations during the pandemic may be complicated by increased risk of SARS-Cov-2 infection and limited social engagement due to changes in hospital policies. The objective of our exploratory study was to determine whether social, economic, and health-related variables were associated with thoughts of suicide and/or self-harm since March 2020 in individuals admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chi-square tests revealed four variables were significantly associated with thoughts of suicide and/or self-harm 1) difficulty with cancellation of important events, 2) some form of loneliness, 3) decreased time spent in green spaces, and 4) increased time spent using devices with screens. The logistic regression model showed a significant association between suicidal and/or self-harm thoughts and cancellation of important events. Further investigation of the loneliness variable components revealed a significant association between suicidal and/or self-harm thoughts and feeling a lack of companionship, feeling isolated, and feeling alone. These results suggest that social challenges experienced during the pandemic were associated with negative mental health symptoms of individuals admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Self-Injurious Behavior
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Psychiatry Res
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.psychres.2022.114998
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