Department of Psychiatry, University clinical center of Republika Srpska, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Introduction. Previous research results of family and marital status as the protective factors in the relation to the suicide show that the suicide rate is higher in divorced and widowers, and low in people who are married and have children. The aim of this study was to examine the connection between family and partner relationships and the presence of suicidal thoughts.
Methods. The study sample included 100 participants from general population aged 18-40 years. The following instruments were used: The Scale of Family Gathering, The Sexual Communication Satisfaction Scale and The Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation inventory with added questions about socio-demographic characteristics.
Results. The results showed the existence of significantly negative correlation between suicidal thought and family gathering, namely higher sexual communication satisfaction. No significant differences between men and women regarding the presence of suicidal thoughts were noticed. Concerning this sample, the presence of suicidal thoughts was highest in the single, and lowest in the divorced, but obtained differences were not statistically significant.
Conclusion. The results confirmed the importance of quality and quantity of family and partner relationships for the protection of mental health of the individual. The protective role of these relationships should be emphasized and developed when suicidal thoughts are noticed and present. Divergence of obtained results with former research on correlation between marital status and suicide rate indicated
the necessity for further study into family and partner relationships and their role in suicide.
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