Correlation between Stressful Life Events and Suicidal Ideation among Patients with Schizophrenia in Remission Stage: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Patients with schizophrenia often exhibit impaired executive brain function, which disrupts their daily activities. Relapse in schizophrenia has been linked to stressful life events. Aim: To identify the relationship between life event stressors and suicidal ideation among patients wi...

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Main Authors: Ashok Silamban, Kailash Sureshkumar, Aravindh Manogaran, Shabeeba Z Kailash
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JCDR Research and Publications Private Limited 2025-07-01
Series:Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research
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Online Access:https://jcdr.net/article_fulltext.asp?issn=0973-709x&year=2025&month=July&volume=19&issue=7&page=VC01-VC05&id=21265
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author Ashok Silamban
Kailash Sureshkumar
Aravindh Manogaran
Shabeeba Z Kailash
author_facet Ashok Silamban
Kailash Sureshkumar
Aravindh Manogaran
Shabeeba Z Kailash
author_sort Ashok Silamban
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Patients with schizophrenia often exhibit impaired executive brain function, which disrupts their daily activities. Relapse in schizophrenia has been linked to stressful life events. Aim: To identify the relationship between life event stressors and suicidal ideation among patients with schizophrenia at the remission stage in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital among 120 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia in remission. Screening for eligibility was performed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Data were collected through a structured questionnaire capturing sociodemographic variables, the Beck’s Suicidal Ideation Scale (BSS), and the Presumptive Life Event Stress Scale (PSLES). Statistical analysis was carried out using IBM SPSS version 23.0. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Age, gender, marital status, education, occupation, religion, and socioeconomic status did not significantly influence BSS scores. Likewise, clinical factors such as frequency of hospitalisation, age of onset, duration of illness, and duration of remission showed no significant relationship with suicidal ideation. Life event stressors were notably prevalent, with marital conflict 65 (54.2%), conflict with in-laws 58 (48.3%), and financial problems 54 (45.0%) being the most commonly reported. Patients experiencing 3-5 stressors and more than 5 stressors had significantly higher mean BSS scores (9.8 and 13.2, respectively) compared to those with 1-3 stressors (6.8), with p-values of 0.008 and <0.001. Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r=0.482, p<0.001) indicated a moderate positive relationship between cumulative stress and suicidal ideation. The regression model further showed that 23% of the variance in suicidal ideation could be explained by life event stress levels. Conclusion: The study found a significant positive correlation between life event stressors and suicidal ideation in patients with schizophrenia in remission. Routine screening for psychosocial stress may aid in early identification and prevention of suicide risk in this population.
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spelling doaj-art-a3d0ce1047a44f8abf10f624e654b08b2025-08-20T03:15:28ZengJCDR Research and Publications Private LimitedJournal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research2249-782X0973-709X2025-07-01197VC01VC0510.7860/JCDR/2025/78747.21265Correlation between Stressful Life Events and Suicidal Ideation among Patients with Schizophrenia in Remission Stage: A Cross-sectional StudyAshok Silamban0Kailash Sureshkumar1Aravindh Manogaran2Shabeeba Z Kailash3Postgraduate Student, Department of Psychiatry, Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Chettinad Academy of Research and Education, Kelambakkam, Tamil Nadu, India.Professor and Head, Department of Psychiatry, Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Chettinad Academy of Research and Education, Kelambakkam, Tamil Nadu, India.Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Chettinad Academy of Research and Education, Kelambakkam, Tamil Nadu, India.Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Chettinad Academy of Research and Education, Kelambakkam, Tamil Nadu, India.Introduction: Patients with schizophrenia often exhibit impaired executive brain function, which disrupts their daily activities. Relapse in schizophrenia has been linked to stressful life events. Aim: To identify the relationship between life event stressors and suicidal ideation among patients with schizophrenia at the remission stage in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital among 120 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia in remission. Screening for eligibility was performed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Data were collected through a structured questionnaire capturing sociodemographic variables, the Beck’s Suicidal Ideation Scale (BSS), and the Presumptive Life Event Stress Scale (PSLES). Statistical analysis was carried out using IBM SPSS version 23.0. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Age, gender, marital status, education, occupation, religion, and socioeconomic status did not significantly influence BSS scores. Likewise, clinical factors such as frequency of hospitalisation, age of onset, duration of illness, and duration of remission showed no significant relationship with suicidal ideation. Life event stressors were notably prevalent, with marital conflict 65 (54.2%), conflict with in-laws 58 (48.3%), and financial problems 54 (45.0%) being the most commonly reported. Patients experiencing 3-5 stressors and more than 5 stressors had significantly higher mean BSS scores (9.8 and 13.2, respectively) compared to those with 1-3 stressors (6.8), with p-values of 0.008 and <0.001. Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r=0.482, p<0.001) indicated a moderate positive relationship between cumulative stress and suicidal ideation. The regression model further showed that 23% of the variance in suicidal ideation could be explained by life event stress levels. Conclusion: The study found a significant positive correlation between life event stressors and suicidal ideation in patients with schizophrenia in remission. Routine screening for psychosocial stress may aid in early identification and prevention of suicide risk in this population.https://jcdr.net/article_fulltext.asp?issn=0973-709x&year=2025&month=July&volume=19&issue=7&page=VC01-VC05&id=21265beck’s suicidal ideation scalepresumptive life event stress scaleschizophrenia in remissionsuicidal intent
spellingShingle Ashok Silamban
Kailash Sureshkumar
Aravindh Manogaran
Shabeeba Z Kailash
Correlation between Stressful Life Events and Suicidal Ideation among Patients with Schizophrenia in Remission Stage: A Cross-sectional Study
Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research
beck’s suicidal ideation scale
presumptive life event stress scale
schizophrenia in remission
suicidal intent
title Correlation between Stressful Life Events and Suicidal Ideation among Patients with Schizophrenia in Remission Stage: A Cross-sectional Study
title_full Correlation between Stressful Life Events and Suicidal Ideation among Patients with Schizophrenia in Remission Stage: A Cross-sectional Study
title_fullStr Correlation between Stressful Life Events and Suicidal Ideation among Patients with Schizophrenia in Remission Stage: A Cross-sectional Study
title_full_unstemmed Correlation between Stressful Life Events and Suicidal Ideation among Patients with Schizophrenia in Remission Stage: A Cross-sectional Study
title_short Correlation between Stressful Life Events and Suicidal Ideation among Patients with Schizophrenia in Remission Stage: A Cross-sectional Study
title_sort correlation between stressful life events and suicidal ideation among patients with schizophrenia in remission stage a cross sectional study
topic beck’s suicidal ideation scale
presumptive life event stress scale
schizophrenia in remission
suicidal intent
url https://jcdr.net/article_fulltext.asp?issn=0973-709x&year=2025&month=July&volume=19&issue=7&page=VC01-VC05&id=21265
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AT aravindhmanogaran correlationbetweenstressfullifeeventsandsuicidalideationamongpatientswithschizophreniainremissionstageacrosssectionalstudy
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