To determine predictive risk factors for violent offending in patients with paranoid schizophrenia in Croatia.
The cross-sectional study including male in-patients with paranoid schizophrenia with ...(N=104) and without (N=102) history of physical violence and violent offending was conducted simultaneously in several hospitals in Croatia during one-year period (2010-2011). Data on their sociodemographic characteristics, duration of untreated illness phase (DUP), alcohol abuse, suicidal behavior, personality features, and insight into illness were collected and compared between groups. Binary logistic regression model was used to determine the predictors of violent offending.
Predictors of violent offending were older age, DUP before first contact with psychiatric services, and alcohol abuse. Regression model showed that the strongest positive predictive factor was harmful alcohol use, as determined by AUDIT test (odds ratio 37.01; 95% confidence interval 5.20-263.24). Psychopathy, emotional stability, and conscientiousness were significant positive predictive factors, while extroversion, pleasantness, and intellect were significant negative predictive factors for violent offending.
This study found an association between alcohol abuse and the risk for violent offending in paranoid schizophrenia. We hope that this finding will help improve public and mental health prevention strategies in this vulnerable patient group.
The World Health Organization categorises suicide as one of the leading health-related problems today. Epidemiological suicide analyses facilitate risk factor identification and prevention programme ...development. This paper analyses suicide rates in the area of the Bjelovar-Bilogora County in the recession period 1998–1999 and during the current economic crisis that began towards the end of 2008. Suicide-related data were gathered by consulting the database of the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, while the periods of crisis were defined according to the publicly available data. Contrary to what would be expected, the suicide rates in the two recession periods were lower in relation to other periods. In the course of the current economic crisis, the suicide rate has been the lowest in the last twenty years. Economic crises alter both individual and collective conscience only when they lead to social-economic deprivation ending in family cohesion and emotional balance disorders, and the loss of social support. An increase in the occurrence of crisis- and depression-related disorders is expected soon. The co-action of the said factors, together with biological predisposition, results in an increased risk of suicidal behaviour in risk groups; therefore, it is important to intervene in this direction early (now) by implementing prevention programmes.
Every forty seconds a person commits suicide according to the WHO, each year nearly one million people, mostly men in their sixties, but in recent years suicides of young men (aged 15 to 29 years) ...have increased. The last twenty years in Croatia, the annual number of suicides has been between 871 and 1142. We analyzed the number of suicides, rate, methods, scene and time of committing, gender, age and profession of committers, as well as interdependence of scene, methods and vocation, upon the pattern of 804 cases of suicides committed from 1988 to 2005 in Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska County. Our district is characterized by high suicide rate (31/100000). People who perform suicide are predominantly older and men more frequently then women. To add emphasis, there were 2.49% suicides committed by adolescents in overall sample. The most frequent method of performing suicide was by hanging, most suicides were commmitted at the start of the working week, also in morning hours and more in spring and summer months. Methods of committing suicide are correlated with access of means and scene of committting (indirectly with profession). Motives alter depending on committers' age, the most frequent motive being illness.
Two final classes of Bjelovar Secondary Medical School were questioned twice about alcohol, nicotine and drugs abuse, early sexual intercourse and confidence in parents and teachers, in order to ...estimate their knowledge, attitudes and behaviour: at the beginning and at the end of the winter term of the year 2000/2001. The answers show that significant improvement in the knowledge of mental hygiene does not necessarily change the behavior of the examines. Three quarters of the examinees smoke tobacco, over 90% of them consume alcohol and one quarter have been experimenting with the so called "light" drugs. The majority of the examinees consider early sexual intercourse (before the age of sixteen) undesirable. Less than half of the examinees are satisfied with their relationship with parents. Small number of examinees is willing to ask for the teachers' help in solving noneducational problems. The results of this study have showed the need for the constant performing of preventive school programs for the improvement of communication skills between parents, pupils and teachers.
Podaci WHO-a pokazuju da u svijetu svakih 40 sekundi jedan čovjek izvrši samoubojstvo, svake godine ubije se gotovo milijun ljudi, najčešće muškaraca u šezdesetim godinama života, ali se zadnjih ...godina bilježi porast samoubojstava mladih muškaraca (dobi 15–29 godina). Posljednjih dvadesetak godina u Hrvatskoj godišnji se broj samoubojstava kreće između 871 i 1142. Bjelovarsko-bilogorska županija pokazuje stopu samoubojstva značajno višu od tog prosjeka. Na uzorku od 804 samoubojstva izvršena u razdoblju od 1988. do 2005. godine na području naše županije analizirali smo broj samoubojstava, stopu, način, mjesto i vrijeme izvršenja, spol, dob i zanimanje izvršitelja te međuodnos mjesta, načina i zanimanja. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju visoku stopu samoubojstva (31/100.000), ubijaju se pretežno starije osobe, stare životne dobi, muškarci više nego žene, a 2,49% ukupnog broja samoubojstava počinile su maloljetne osobe. Najčešći način izvršenja je vješanje, većina samoubojstava izvršena je početkom radnog tjedna, u jutarnjim satima, više u proljetnim i ljetnim mjesecima, način izvršenja samoubojstva povezan je s dostupnošću sredstva, mjestom izvršenja i zanimanjem izvršitelja. Motivi izvršenja mijenjaju se ovisno o dobi izvršitelja, najčešći vjerojatni motiv samoubojstva je bolest.
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