The Hopkins study, consistent with previous research, sheds new light on the extent to which being in an abusive relationship compounds suicide risk for HIV-positive women in particular. This latest study is published in the March/April 2005 issue of Women’s Health Issues.
“Given that suicide is the fourth leading cause of death for women ages 15-44, there is a need for further research on risk and opportunities for prevention,” said Andrea C. Gielen, ScD, ScM, lead author of the study and deputy director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The researchers used data from Project WAVE (Women, AIDS and the Violence Epidemic) to examine the rates of suicidal thoughts and attempts, as well as to gauge anxiety and depression. They also set out to learn how these outcomes differed based on women’s HIV and abuse experiences. The women were all living in low-income, urban neighborhoods in Baltimore, Md.
Of the 611 women interviewed, 31 percent reported having thought about suicide and 16 percent reported having attempted suicide. Abused women were four times more likely than non-abused women to have thought about suicide. The researchers also found that, among HIV-positive women, those recently diagnosed thought about suicide more frequently.