DRUG ADDICTION AS RISK FOR SUICIDE ATTEMPTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. CASE STUDY AT CAROLINA CENTER FOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, PSYCHIATRIC RESIDENTIAL HOSPITAL IN SOUTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES

Background: Suicide is closely linked to the substances use.Therefore, it is very important to confirm the factors that affect the possibility of suicidal behavior.The research was conducted in the year 2020, during the internship certification period for Counselor on Addicts, conducted in the Carolina Center for Behavioral Health, Greer, SC, overlapping period and with the effects of the crisis caused by the covid-19 pandemic.Methods: The survey included 200 respondents, all subjects in the facility; 100 heroin addicts on the substitution program that attempted suicide and 100 opiate addicts who have not attempted suicide.The evaluation included a questionnaire with socio-demographic, hereditary and addiction data, legal problems and then the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-MMPI-2.Of the 100 addicts who tried to commit suicide, an attempt was made to apply the Scale for Assessment of Lethality of Suicide Attempt (SALSA), but with low response rates.Results: The results showed a statistically significant difference compared to the personality structure, especially pronounced in hypersensitive structures, in relation to the duration of addictive experience and duration of heroin by intravenous route, as well as in relation to the presence of psychotic disorders, drug abuse and suicidal behavior in the family.Conclusion: As risk factors among opiate addicts are identified interfered biological and psychological factors and the effects of the substances themselves.