Early maladaptive schemas of emotional deprivation, social isolation, shame and abandonment are related to a history of suicide attempts among patients with major depressive disorders

Background: Patients with psychiatric disorders have an exceptionally high risk of completed or attempted suicide. This holds particularly true for patients with major depressive disorders. The aim of the present study was to explore whether patients with major depressive disorders (MDD) and a history of suicide attempts differed in their early maladaptive schemas from patients with MDD but without such a history or from healthy controls.

Method: Ninety participants took part in the study. Of these, 30 were patients with MDD who had made a recent suicide attempt; 30 were patients with MDD but no suicide attempts, and 30 were gender- and age-matched healthy controls. Participants completed questionnaires covering socio-demographic characteristics and the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ- RE2R) to assess early maladaptive schemas. Experts rated patients' MDD with the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale.

Results: Patients did not differ in experts' ratings of symptoms of depression. Compared to healthy controls, patients with MDD recorded higher scores on maladaptive schemas such as recognition seeking, negativity/pessimism, and insufficient self-control. Compared to patients without suicide attempts and healthy controls, those who had made a suicide attempt had higher scores on dimensions such as failure, mistrust, emotional inhibition, social isolation, and abandonment/instability.

Conclusion: Compared to healthy controls, patients with MDD had more pronounced maladaptive schemas, but this was more marked in patients with a history of suicide attempts. The results suggest that suicide attempts and poorer psychological functioning are related.