Prospective Predictors of Suicidal Ideation during Depressive Episodes among Older Adolescents and Young Adults

Suicide is a leading cause of death among older adolescents and young adults; however, few studies have prospectively examined risk for suicidal ideation. The present study in older adolescents and young adults investigated whether two personality traits previously implicated in risk for suicidal ideation, neuroticism and extraversion, as well as certain aspects of interpersonal functioning, prospectively predicted endorsement of suicidal ideation during depressive episodes. Participants (n=117) are a subset of the Northwestern-UCLA Youth Emotion Project sample, which started with a group of high school juniors oversampled for high neuroticism. Baseline interpersonal functioning was measured using the Life Stress Interview. Baseline personality trait composite scores were created from multiple inventories. Depressive disorders and suicidal ideation were assessed at the baseline and three annual follow-up interviews using the SCID. Cox regression was employed to predict suicidal ideation during depressive episodes diagnosed at any follow-up interview. Results showed that baseline extraversion inversely predicts suicidal ideation in males only, and that baseline interpersonal problems in one's social circle, regardless of gender, predict suicidal ideation during depressive episodes.     

Depressive Symptoms in Young Adults: The Role of Attachment Orientations and Romantic Relationship Conflict

Although romantic involvement in adulthood has generally been associated with enhanced well-being, some aspects of adults’ romantic relationships (e.g., maladaptive conflict behaviors) have been linked with depressive symptoms. In order to better understand the role of romantic involvement in well-being, the present study examined links among attachment orientations, conflict behaviors with romantic partners, and depressive symptoms in an undergraduate sample of young adults (N = 110). Correlational analyses generally supported the hypothesized links. When a regression series was applied to the data in order to determine whether young adults’ conflict behaviors serve as a mediator in the link between their attachment orientations and depressive symptoms, mediation was not supported. Instead, results supported a model wherein attachment orientations and conflict behaviors (attacking) were independent predictors, explaining unique variance in young adults’ depressive symptoms. Findings underscore the importance of considering specific aspects of young adults’ romantic relationships in the prediction of their depressive symptoms and illuminate the role attachment orientations and conflict behaviors in their depressive symptoms.     

The Psychological Effects of Unemployment and Unsatisfactory Employment on Young Adults: Findings from a 10-Year Longitudinal Study

The purpose of the present study was to extend the external validity of an earlier longitudinal study of school leavers by including participants from a representative sample of secondary schools. Questionnaires were administered annually to a sample of South Australian school leavers over a 10-year period. At Time 1 participants were in the last compulsory year of high school aged around 15 years and at Time 10 they were aged around 25 years. Results confirmed those from an earlier longitudinal study showing that the transition from school to satisfactory employment was associated with significant improvements in psychological well-being, whereas transition from school to unemployment or unsatisfactory employment showed no change in psychological well-being. The current findings extended the external validity of the earlier study because whereas participants in the earlier study were sampled from co-educational metropolitan public high schools, the current study included participants from every kind of high school: single sex as well as co-educational, rural as well as metropolitan, and private as well as public.     

师范生职业认同与自杀意念的关系:抑郁的中介作用及其性别差异

基于心理健康的社会学模型和社会-文化模型,本研究考察师范生职业认同与自杀意念之间的关系,以及性别的调节效应和抑郁的中介效应。被试为700名师范生,研究工具包括师范生职业认同感量表、自杀意念自评量表、流调中心用抑郁自评量表。结果表明：（1）职业认同得分、自杀意念检出率的性别差异显著;（2）职业认同与抑郁、自杀意念均呈显著的负相关,自杀意念和抑郁呈显著的正相关;（3）性别在职业认同负向预测自杀意念的关系中起到调节作用,该调节作用还部分通过抑郁这一中介变量来实现。     

Predicting Identity Status: The Role of Attachment,Differentiation, and Meaning Making

Although identity is an important aspect of overall wellness, it is not yet understood how identity develops or how to accurately predict identity status. In this study of 192 emerging adult college students, the authors found that attachment, differentiation, and meaning‐making subprocesses significantly predicted 3 of 4 identity statuses. Implications for counselors and counselor educators are discussed.     

Psychosocial–Environmental Risk Factors for Suicide Attempts in Adolescents with Suicidal Ideation: Findings from a Sample of 73,238 Adolescents

We determined risk factors that discriminate between suicide attempt (SA) adolescents and suicidal ideation only (SI only) adolescents using data from the 2010 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web‐based Survey (12–19 years; N = 73,238). In males, heavy alcohol use, drug use, and high perceived sadness/hopelessness showed significant effects on the presence of SA versus the presence of SI only. In females, along with these variables, low academic achievement, poor perceived health status, high perceived stress, and unhealthy coping strategy were also significantly related to the presence of SA versus SI only. Therefore, clinical interventions targeting adolescents' psychological distress are warranted to prevent suicide.     

社会排斥对网络偏差行为的影响:自我控制的中介作用和道德同一性的调节作用

本研究拟探讨社会排斥对大学生网络偏差行为的影响及其作用机制——自我控制的中介作用和道德同一性的调节作用。对769名大学生问卷调查的结果表明：（1）社会排斥与网络偏差行为呈显著正相关,与自我控制呈显著负相关;自我控制和道德同一性均与网络偏差行为呈显著负相关;（2）社会排斥对网络偏差行为具有显著的正向预测作用,且自我控制在这一关系中具有显著的中介作用;（3）社会排斥对网络偏差行为的直接预测作用以及自我控制的中介作用均受到道德同一性的调节,且这两种效应在道德同一性水平较低的群体中都更为显著。本研究不仅有助于进一步明晰网络偏差行为的影响因素及其发生机制,而且对大学生网络偏差行为的预防和干预还具有一定的实践指导价值。     

组织承诺和亲组织的非伦理行为关系:道德认同的调节作用

亲组织的非伦理行为(unethical pro-organizational behaviors,UPB)指员工为了其所属的组织利益而从事有违伦理的行为。研究探讨了组织承诺与UPB的关系,以及道德认同在其间的调节作用。研究发现,组织承诺与内化道德认同、象征化道德认同对UPB的影响存在三元交互的关系;组织承诺对UPB的影响主要体现在低内化道德认同/高象征化道德认同者中。     

The Role of Racial Discrimination in the Economic Value of Education Among Urban,Low-Income Latina/o Youth: Ethnic Identity and Gender as Moderators

The present study used resilience theory to explore relationships among perceived racial discrimination, ethnic identity, gender, and economic value of education (EVE) among urban, low‐income, Latina/o youth. It was expected that racial discrimination would predict poorer perceptions of the EVE among Latina/o adolescents. Ethnic identity was hypothesized to buffer the negative effect of racial discrimination on Latina/o students’ EVE. The participants in this study were 396 urban, low‐income Latina/o high school students from a large, Midwestern city who completed surveys in both 9th‐ and 10th‐grade. Structural equation modeling was used to test the relationships among racial discrimination, ethnic identity, and EVE. Results supported a protective model of resilience. Specifically, ethnic identity served as a protective factor by buffering the negative effect of perceived racial discrimination on EVE for male participants. The present study is the first to examine ethnic identity as a buffer of racial discrimination on EVE among Latina/o high school students. Future directions and implications are discussed.     

Suicidal Ideation and Eating Disorder Symptoms in Adolescents: The Role of Interoceptive Deficits

Eating disorder symptoms and suicidal ideation are relatively common, and often begin to emerge in adolescence. Interoceptive deficits, or the inability to perceive and accurately identify the physiological condition of the body, is an established risk factor for both eating disorders and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Despite this, longitudinal research examining the temporal dynamics between these variables is scarce, especially within adolescent samples. Using a three-wave longitudinal design, the present study tested bidirectional relationships between interoceptive deficits, eating disorder symptoms, and suicidal ideation to examine whether interoceptive deficits predicted eating disorder symptoms and suicidal ideation over the course of a year among a sample of adolescents. Participants were 436 community adolescents recruited from local middle- and high-schools. Data were collected at baseline, 6-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up. Study measures assessed current suicidal ideation, eating disorder symptom severity, and interoceptive deficits. Autoregressive cross-lagged modeling was conducted in MPlus. We found baseline eating disorder symptoms significantly predicted suicidal ideation at 6-month follow-up when controlling for baseline suicidal ideation. Baseline interoceptive deficits significantly predicted eating disorder symptoms 6-months later, while 6-month follow-up interoceptive deficits significantly predicted 12-month follow-up suicidal ideation. Our findings highlight the need for early and regular assessment of suicidal ideation and eating disorder symptoms in adolescents. Given that interoceptive deficits was a shared risk factor for both conditions within this sample, these results underscore the need for targeted interventions aimed at improving interoception.     

Interoceptive Awareness and Suicidal Ideation in a Clinical Eating Disorder Sample: The Role of Body Trust

Previous research has demonstrated that both suicidal ideation (SI) and eating disorders (EDs) are associated with poor interoceptive awareness (IA). Suicidality research has demonstrated that the IA dimension of lower body trust is associated with SI, suicide plans, and suicide attempts. Similarly, in ED samples, recent research supports that low body trust has been the most robust dimension of IA associated with eating pathology. However, to date, research is lacking in how dimensions of IA may be associated with SI in an ED sample, above and beyond the impact of eating pathology on SI. Thus, in a clinical ED sample, the present study sought to determine which IA dimensions predict the presence and severity of SI, above and beyond ED symptoms. Participants (N = 102) completed a clinical interview assessing SI and self-report assessments including the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA). Results demonstrated that patients with current SI reported greater ED psychopathology, lower MAIA Attention Regulation, MAIA Self-Regulation, and MAIA Trusting scores compared to patients without SI. Higher ED psychopathology and lower MAIA Attention Regulation, Self-Regulation, and Trusting subscale scores were all significantly associated with the presence of SI. However, only low MAIA Trusting scores predicted the presence of SI, above and beyond covariates (age, depression, and eating pathology). No MAIA subscales were correlated with the severity of SI. Consistent with previous research, results suggest low MAIA Trusting scores may be associated with SI in ED samples and highlight the need for future research on mechanisms of these associations.     

Modernity and Identity: Themes and Perspectives in the Study of Older Adults

Developments in social gerontology have led to an increased awareness of the relationship between political economy, culture, and personal narrative as influences on social identity in later life. Central to this debate has been a growing interest in lifestyle choice as evidence of a change from modern to postmodern forms of aging. A key component of this process has been the erosion of a predictable framework for an aging identity, previously supplied by the welfare state. It is argued that, alongside the emergence of no-care zones in health and welfare, postmodern ideas on consumerism and the body have led to an assault on identity in old age. As a result, we may be seeing the emergence of no-identity zones which fail to sustain an authentic framework for supporting experiences in old age. A critical gerontology should include the study of identity as central to understanding the disjunction between aging from within and aging within society.     

The Interplay Among Risk Factors for Suicidal Ideation and Suicide: The Role of Depression, Poor Health, and Loved Ones' Messages of Support and Criticism

When individuals who receive social support are in poor physical or mental health and are criticized or made to feel unwanted, they may perceive themselves as a burden. Poor physical health and depression were hypothesized to exacerbate the harmful effects on suicidal ideation of receiving critical negative messages and of receiving social support. These hypotheses were tested using secondary analyses of data from a sample of 533 unemployed married individuals who were assessed shortly after job loss, and 6 months later. The results of our analyses supported the hypotheses and demonstrated that for participants with poor health or high level of depressive symptoms an increase in critical messages and social support (from Time 1 to Time 2) predicted increased suicidal ideation. This relationship was not observed for non- depressed participants in good health. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for suicide prevention.     

Self-Criticism,Neediness, and Distress in the Prediction of Suicide Ideation: Results from Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Studies

The aim of the present study was to test whether the maladaptive personality traits of self-criticism and neediness predict suicide ideation when controlling for general distress. Further, potential interactive effects on suicide ideation of the two traits and distress were also evaluated. Two studies with nonclinical samples were conducted. The first investigation was cross-sectional and involved a final sample of 202 community adults while the second study was longitudinal with a final sample of 207 college students. Results of Study 1 demonstrated that self-criticism, but not neediness, associated with suicide ideation and, in doing so, also interacted with distress. Neediness also tended to interact with self-criticism in the prediction of suicide ideation. Results from Study 2 were similar and confirmed the Study 1 results. Changes in self-criticism, but not changes in neediness, predicted changes in suicide ideation after statistically controlling for changes in distress. Changes in the interaction between self-criticism and distress predicted changes in suicide ideation and changes in the interaction between self-criticism and neediness tended to predict changes in suicide ideation. Results are discussed with regard to their implications for psychological intervention.     

Late‐life Depression,Suicidal Ideation,and Attempted Suicide: The Role of Individual Differences in Maximizing,Regret, and Negative Decision Outcomes

Suicide rates are highest in adults of middle and older age. Research with psychiatric patients has shown that proneness to feel regret about past decisions can grow so intense that suicide becomes a tempting escape. Here, we examine the additional role of individual differences in maximizing, or the tendency to strive for the best decision, rather than one that is good enough. We provided individual‐difference measures of maximizing, regret proneness, and negative life decision outcomes (as reported on the Decision Outcome Inventory) to a nonpsychiatric control group, as well as three groups of psychiatric patients in treatment for suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, or non‐suicidal depression. We found that scores on the three individual‐difference measures were worse for psychiatric patients than for nonpsychiatric controls and were correlated to clinical assessments of depression, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation. More importantly, maximizing was associated with these clinical assessments, even after taking into account maximizers' worse life decision outcomes. Regret proneness significantly mediated those relationships, suggesting that maximizers could be at risk for clinical depression because of their proneness to regret. We discuss the theoretical relevance of our findings and their promise for clinical practice. Ultimately, late‐life depression and suicidal ideation may be treated with interventions that promote better decision making and regret regulation. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Firearms Matter: The Moderating Role of Firearm Storage in the Association Between Current Suicidal Ideation and Likelihood of Future Suicide Attempts Among United States Military Personnel

The relationship between firearm ownership and suicide is well documented. This study hypothesized that how soldiers store their firearms would moderate the relationship between suicidal ideation and the self-reported likelihood of engaging in a future suicide attempt, and that this relationship would be explained by fearlessness about death. There were 432 military personnel (91.3% men, 74.2% White, M_age = 27.60) who endorsed current ownership of a private firearm and who were recruited from a military base in the southeastern United States (94.5% National Guard). Firearm storage moderated the relationship between suicidal ideation and the self-reported likelihood of engaging in a future suicide attempt, but this relationship was not explained by fearlessness about death. Individuals who reported keeping their firearms loaded and stored in an unsecure location exhibited higher mean levels of fearlessness about death. Findings highlight the need for research examining contributors to suicide risk in the context of firearm storage, and provide support for suicide prevention efforts involving restricting means.     

Contact and Community: The Role of Social Interactions for a Political Identity

Can social interaction contribute to a sense of community that transcends national borders? This question was initially raised by Deutsch (1953) and revived by Fligstein (2008). My analysis makes two contributions to this literature. First, insights from social psychology are applied to specify the microfoundations for why contact across group boundaries can be related to a collective identity. Second, a new three‐wave panel data set is used to examine the relationship empirically. The sample includes almost 1,500 students at 38 German universities. The results show that social interaction contributes to a European identity, but that it is in particular contact with other international students rather than contact with hosts that fosters it most effectively. The data also reveal that contact has a more profound impact on individuals with a weak European identity to begin with. Finally, the change I find is stable after students return to their home institutions.     

The Relationship of Adverse Childhood Experiences to PTSD,Depression, Poly-Drug Use and Suicide Attempt in Reservation-Based Native American Adolescents and Young Adults

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with numerous risk behaviors and mental health outcomes among youth. This study examines the relationship between the number of types of exposures to ACEs and risk behaviors and mental health outcomes among reservation‐based Native Americans. In 2011, data were collected from Native American (N = 288; 15–24 years of age) tribal members from a remote plains reservation using an anonymous web‐based questionnaire. We analyzed the relationship between six ACEs, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, physical and emotional neglect, witness to intimate partner violence, for those <18 years, and included historical loss associated symptoms, and perceived discrimination for those <19 years; and four risk behavior/mental health outcomes: post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depression symptoms, poly‐drug use, and suicide attempt. Seventy‐eight percent of the sample reported at least one ACE and 40 % reported at least two. The cumulative impact of the ACEs were significant (p < .001) for the four outcomes with each additional ACE increasing the odds of suicide attempt (37 %), poly‐drug use (51 %), PTSD symptoms (55 %), and depression symptoms (57 %). To address these findings culturally appropriate childhood and adolescent interventions for reservation‐based populations must be developed, tested and evaluated longitudinally.     

Friendship,Depression, and Suicide Attempts in Adults: Exploratory Analysis of a Longitudinal Follow‐Up Study

Social support is thought to protect against the risk of suicidal behavior in young people and late life, but less is known about the role of friendship in adults. We explored the effect of friendship on suicide attempt risk during 1‐year follow‐up of 132 adults presenting with major depressive episode (MDE). Items from the Social Adjustment Scale–Self‐Report were used as an index of frequency and quality of recent friendship contacts. Survival methods tested associations of friendship with risk of suicide attempt, recurrent MDE, and related outcomes during follow‐up. Impaired friendship predicted greater risk of suicide attempt in an unadjusted Cox model. This association was stronger for quality (p = .009) than frequency (p = .081) of friendship contacts. In the adjusted model, the effect of friendship on suicide attempts was largely explained by self‐reported depression severity. Friendship has a potentially bidirectional relationship with depression, and its effect on suicidal behavior appears to occur through its relationship with depression. Future research should examine the effect of antidepressant treatment on friendship and be designed to test mediation models of relationships between friendship, depression, and suicidal behavior.