Psychosocial Predictors of Suicidal Ideation in Patients Diagnosed with Chronic Illnesses in Jordan

Abstract

Suicide ideation (SI) is considered a major psychiatric emergency in patients diagnosed with chronic illnesses. Suicide ideation is a multifaceted issue that involves bio- psychosocial and cultural factors that interfere with patients’ abilities. The purpose of this study is to investigate the psychosocial predictors of SI among Jordanian patients with chronic illnesses. A cross-sectional design using self-administered questionnaires was used to collect data from 480 patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. The mean score of suicide ideation was 4.07 (SD = 1.7) and almost 20% (n = 85) of the participants found to be suicidal, the majority were suffering from moderate to severe depressive symptoms and low levels of life satisfaction. Also, the analysis showed that the patients had a high level of optimism and moderate perception of social support from family, friends, and significant other. Type of illness has a significant relation to the ‘seriousness’ component of SI (p = 0.023). Depression (β = 0.345, p<0.001) was a significant risk factor for ‘thought’ component of SI, and optimism (β = –0.008, p<0.05) a significant protective factor against the thought component of SI. Patients with chronic illnesses suffer serious psychological disturbances and are in need of psychological care, and periodic psychological screening to maintain their psychological wellbeing.