One of the most difficult and serious challenges facing the mental health professional is the prevention of suicide. Efficient prevention, however, depends on early detection of patients at risk for suicidal behaviour, which in turn depends on a better understanding of the predisposing factors. Over the last years, based on a large volume of data, it has become increasingly clear that subjects who commit suicide present high levels of impulsive and impulsive-aggressive behaviours. / In the first approach, we investigate whether levels of the impulsive aggressive diathesis were more important in suicide occurring at different life stages. In the second, we investigate whether levels of the diathesis predicted when during the course of major depressive disorder suicide occurs. / Family studies have consistently indicated that suicidal behaviour tends to cluster in families. However, relatives also present increased risk for psychiatric morbidity, and therefore, the critical question is whether or not the liability to suicidal behavior is given by the same predisposition to the coexistent psychiatric disorders. / Therefore, in the third study, we examined the independence of familial liability using a three group design. The relatives of deceased suicide probands who died in the context of a major depressive episode are compared to the relatives of living depressed subjects without a history of suicide and to the relatives of healthy controls screened for the absence of major depression and suicide.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.116037 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | McGirr, Alexander. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Division of Neuroscience.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002826492, proquestno: AAIMR66974, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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