Perception of Early Parental Care in Mental Health Consultants with Attempt and Suicidal Ideation

Abstract

We present a quantitative study on people with suicidal behavior, it evaluated 176 patients of mental health consultants, diagnosed with mood disorder, bipolar disorder and adjustment disorder. We investigated the perception that the evaluated patients had about early parental care until age 16. The results show that the the perception of negligence in matters of caretaking and protection is related to a higher probability to commit a severe suicide attempt. This association is particularly clear with the father figure. Also, the kind of paternal bond that favors overprotection, even if it presents low levels of care, is associated to a lower risk of committing suicide or less severe suicide attempts. A maternal role in caretaking seems to have a protective role of suicide risk. These findings open important questions about the necessity of studying the protective and risk factors in the biography of the patients with suicidal risk. Also, this investigation invites us to keep on studying these factors, to corroborate these findings and to achieve a better understanding of them.