Purpose: Epidemiological studies show that depressive and substance use disorders are salient risk factors for suicidal behavior. In residential centers in Mexico City, 75.72% of the patients are diagnosed with comorbidity of substance use and psychiatric disorders; however, the specific prevalence of depression and suicidal behavior in this population has not been reported. This study aims to inform the comorbidity of depression and suicidal behavior in crystal users in residential centers in the state of Aguascalientes, Mexico.
Method: A brief survey was applied to measure substance use patterns, suicidal behavior, and depression symptoms using the Depression Scale of the Center of Epidemiological Studies (CES-D-R). The sample included 343 participants.
Results: The results show that of the 23.3% of participants who reported depressive symptoms, 65% showed suicidal ideation, 46% suicide planning, and 43% suicidal attempt.
Discussions: These results show the importance of implementing components that address depression and suicidal behavior in interventions for substance use.
Conclusions: Currently, no specialized interventions are developed to treat substance use disorders with crystal methamphetamine and, at the same time, treat others mental problems like depression and suicidal behavior. We conclude that the development of this intervention is necessary and urgent.
Keywords: Suicidal behavior; crystal methamphetamine; depression; residential centers; substance use.