Relationship between mindfulness and suicide probability in bipolar disorder patients

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the conscious awareness levels of patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the possibility of suicide. The sample of the study consisted of 117 patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder who were receiving inpatient treatment at the Psychiatry Clinic of the Şahinbey Research and Training Hospital, Gaziantep University. The data collection tools were ''Personal Information Form, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Suicide Probability Scale (SPS), Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)''. In order to determine whether the parameters in the study showed normal distribution, the skewness and kurtosis values of the scale scores were examined. In the parameters showing normal distribution, the independent student t-test was used in the paired group analyses. The Pearson correlation test was used to determine the relationship between the scales. The predictive effect in the study was evaluated with simple linear regression analysis. The statistical significance level was taken as 0.05 in all tests. In this study, it was determined that 53.8% of the patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder were male, 58.8% were between the ages of 18-35, 70.1% had not attempted suicide before and 52.1% had suicidal ideation. The patients' total mean SPS score was determined as 78.25±14.59 and the total mean YMRS score was determined as 15.67±8.73. The total mean BDI score was determined as 20.51±12.84. The total mean MAAS score was determined as 54.36±13.25. The total mean SPS score and the total mean MAAS score differ significantly according to gender. It was observed that there was a positive significant relationship between the total mean score of the SPS and the total mean score of the BDI (p=0.000; r=0.551), and a negative significant relationship between the total mean score of the BDI (p=0.000; r=-0.535). According to this study, it was determined that the suicide probability of the participants d As a result of the regression analysis, it was determined that the participants' depression levels explained 30% of the suicide probability (R=0.551, R²=0.304). It was also determined that the participants' conscious awareness levels explained 28% of the suicide probability (R=0.535, R²=0.286). Diagnosed with bipolar disorder was severe, and the depression and mindfulness levels were moderately severe. In addition, it was determined that as the MAAS level increased, the suicide probability and mania symptoms decreased, and as the MAAS level increased, the depression level decreased. Another result of the study was that women had a higher probability of suicide and men had higher MAAS levels. According to the results of this study, it may be recommended that psychiatric nurses evaluate the depression level, suicide risk and awareness levels of patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder with regular screening programs and refer high-risk individuals for early intervention. Keywords: Bipolar disorder; Suicide probability; Mindfulness; Psychiatric nursing