The association between partner and non-partner aggression and suicidal ideation in patients seeking substance use disorder treatment

ObjectiveThe present study was designed to examine the relationship between prior partner and non-partner aggression and suicidal ideation in patients seeking drug and alcohol treatment.MethodPatients entering drug and alcohol treatment (n = 488) were screened for prior partner and non-partner aggression as well as recent suicidal thoughts. We examined the association between aggression and suicidal ideation in bivariate and multivariate models.ResultsWithin the past two weeks, 33% (159/488) of the sample reported suicidal ideation. In bivariate analyses, neither psychological nor physical aggression towards a non-partner was related to suicidal ideation. Partner psychological aggression was related to suicidal ideation in bivariate but not multivariate analyses. Physical aggression towards a partner was consistently related to higher rates of suicidal ideation even after controlling for other known risk factors (OR = 1.8; CI = 1.1–2.7). Mediational analyses indicate that this relationship was no longer significant after accounting for current negative affect.ConclusionSuicidal ideation is common in patients seeking drug and alcohol treatment and particularly likely in those who report prior aggression towards a partner.