Suicide attempts are associated with personality dimensions in Croatian war veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder

Background: Patients with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have an increased frequency of suicide ideations, but also a higher risk of suicide attempts. Of all the known predisposing risk factors of suicide attempts in this population, personality dimensions are one of the least investigated. The main aim of this study was to examine if personality traits, namely temperament and character dimensions and trait impulsivity, are associated with suicide attempts in war veterans with PTSD. Subjects and methods: This sample included 178 Croatian male war veterans (mean age 49.20 years) treated for PTSD at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine, University Hospital Center Zagreb. These patients were assessed with the M.I.N.I. diagnostic interview and they filled out several self-report scales: the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II), the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R), the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). Results: It was found that 42 (24%) Croatian war veterans with PTSD had a previous suicide attempt. Comparison between the two groups (participants with vs. those without history of suicide attempts) revealed that patients with previous suicide attempts are less educated and more often unemployed, have a longer duration of psychiatric treatment and more psychiatric hospitalizations, and exhibit higher levels of depression and lower life satisfaction. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, temperament dimension Harm Avoidance and character dimension Self-transcendence were unique predictors of suicide attempts, above the influence of age, education level and length of treatment. Conclusions: Croatian war veterans with PTSD have a substantial risk of suicide attempts. In addition to the role of some sociodemographic and clinical factors, it seems that certain personality dimensions are uniquely associated with suicide behaviours among these individuals.