Religion,Sexual Orientation,and Suicide Attempts Among a Sample of Suicidal Adolescents

Despite condemnation of same‐sex attraction by certain religious groups, few studies have explored the relationship between religion, same‐sex attraction, and suicidality. This study examined the moderating effect of same‐sex attraction on the relationship between parent/adolescent religiosity and suicide ideation/attempts in a suicidal adolescent sample (N  = 129). Linear and negative binomial regressions tested the effects of a two‐way dichotomous (same‐sex attraction, yes/no) by continuous (religiosity) interaction on ideation and attempts, respectively. The interaction was not significant for ideation. However, high religiosity was associated with more attempts in youth reporting same‐sex attraction but fewer attempts in those reporting opposite‐sex attraction only.     

Self‐Esteem and Suicide Ideation in Psychiatric Outpatients

Depression, hopelessness, and low self‐esteem are implicated as vulnerability factors for suicide ideation. The association of self‐esteem with suicide ideation after controlling for depressed mood and hopelessness was examined. Adult psychiatric outpatients (N = 338) completed measures of self‐esteem, suicide ideation, hopelessness, and depression. Self‐esteem was operationalized as beliefs about oneself (self‐based self‐esteem) and beliefs about how other people regard oneself (other‐based self‐esteem). Each dimension of self‐esteem was negatively associated with suicide ideation after controlling for depression and hopelessness. Of the two dimensions of self‐esteem, other‐based self‐esteem was the more robust predictor of suicide ideation. These findings suggest that even in the context of depression and hopelessness, low self‐esteem may add to the risk for suicide ideation.     

Suicide ideation and depression in university students in Botswana

The study aimed at exploring suicide ideation and its relationship to depression in university students in Botswana. Data were collected from 122 undergraduate students (68.9% females, 31.1% males) with a mean age of 20.02 years. Depressive symptoms were measured with an adapted version of Beck's Depression Inventory-II. In total, 47.5% of the respondents reported suicide ideation, 28.7% reported previous suicide attempts, and the mean depression score was 19.14. Suicide ideation correlated strongly with total depression scores. The level of depression severity was linearly related to suicide ideation but 14.3% of respondents who scored at the level of minimal depression and 53.8% of those who scored at the level of mild depression had also contemplated suicide. The level of education of respondents’ mothers had an inverse relationship with suicide ideation and with depression in that those whose mothers had a tertiary level education were less likely to engage in suicide ideation and had significantly lower depression scores. The results are discussed from within the specific social ecological context of Botswana.     

Suicide Ideation and Attempts among Inhalant Users: Results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions

Few studies have examined associations of inhalant use and inhalant use disorders (IUDs) to suicide ideation and attempts. We investigated these relationships in the largest comorbidity survey conducted in the United States. Suicidal ideation was significantly more prevalent among inhalant users than nonusers and severity of inhalant use problems was positively related to suicidal ideation. Among persons with IUDs, 67.4% had thought about committing suicide and 20.2% had attempted suicide. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that respondents with IUDs reported significantly higher levels of suicide ideation than inhalant nonusers. Inhalant use is associated with significantly increased risk for suicide ideation, especially among women and persons with DSM‐IV IUDs.     

Clarifying the Relationship of Parental Bonding to Suicide Ideation and Attempts

Suicide and suicidal behavior are major public health problems, especially among adolescents and young adults. Previous research has established links between parental bonding and suicidality; however, it remains unclear whether parental bonding is associated with suicide ideation, the progression from suicide ideation to suicide attempts, or both. This study examined the relation of parental bonding to suicide ideation and suicide attempts in adolescents from two settings: (1) acute psychiatric care (n = 172) and (2) high school (n = 426). All participants were administered validated measures of parental bonding, suicide ideation, and suicide attempts, as well as emotion dysregulation, loneliness, and self‐worth. In the psychiatric sample, lower parental care significantly differentiated adolescents with a history of suicide attempts from those with suicide ideation only or without histories of suicidality. This pattern remained even after controlling for other known correlates of suicidality (i.e., emotional dysregulation, loneliness, and low self‐worth). Similar effects were found in the community sample, although these findings failed to reach statistical significance. In both samples, parental overprotection was not associated with suicide ideation or suicide attempts. Results suggest that parental care may be an important risk factor for youth suicidal behavior and may help differentiate suicide attempters from suicide ideators.     

Religion and Support for Suicide Attacks

ABSTRACT— In four studies carried out across different cultural, religious, and political contexts, we investigated the association between religion and popular support for suicide attacks. In two surveys of Palestinians and one cognitive priming experiment with Israeli settlers, prayer to God, an index of religious devotion, was unrelated to support for suicide attacks. Instead, attendance at religious services, thought to enhance coalitional commitment, positively predicted support for suicide attacks. In a survey of six religions in six nations, regular attendance at religious services positively predicted a combination of willing martyrdom and out-group hostility, but regular prayer did not. Implications for understanding the role of religion in suicide attacks are discussed.     

Suicide and African American teenagers: risk factors and coping mechanisms

In this study we investigated whether locus of control, hopelessness, and depression were primary risk factors for suicide ideation and attempts in African American youth, and whether congruency between locus of control and religious coping style reduced suicide risk. The sample consisted of 176 African American high school students (115 females; 61 males). Multiple and logistic regression were used to determine relationships among study variables. Depression was found to mediate the relationship between hopelessness and suicidal behaviors. External locus of control led to greater risk for hopelessness and depression, with a trend in the predicted direction for suicide attempts. Religious coping style alone was not always associated with reduction of risk of suicidal behaviors, yet some evidence suggests that congruency between locus of control and religious coping style reduces risk. Results provide additional support for suicide interventions to target depressive symptoms. Results also highlight the importance of examining the role of culturally salient variables such as fatalism and religious coping style when developing intervention programs for suicide.     

Trajectories of Suicide Ideation,Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury,and Suicide Attempts in a Nonclinical Sample of Military Personnel and Veterans

Nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) is a risk factor for suicide attempts, but little is known about NSSI among military personnel and veterans, or about the temporal sequencing of NSSI relative to suicide ideation and attempts. This study evaluates trajectories of suicide ideation, NSSI, and suicide attempts in a sample of 422 military personnel and veterans. Of those with a history of NSSI, 77% also experienced suicide ideation. Suicide ideation emerged before NSSI (67%) more often than the reverse (17%). Of those with a history of suicide attempt, 41% also engaged in NSSI. NSSI emerged prior to the first suicide attempt (91%) more often than the reverse (9%). The length of time from suicide ideation to suicide attempt was longer for those who first engaged in NSSI (median = 3.5 years) compared with those who did not engage in NSSI (median = 0.0 years), Wald χ²(1) = 11.985, p = .002. Age of onset was earlier for participants reporting NSSI only compared with those reporting both NSSI and suicide attempts (16.71 vs. 22.08 years), F(1, 45) = 4.149, p = .048. NSSI may serve as a “stepping stone” from suicide ideation to attempts for 41% of those who attempt suicide.     

The Longitudinal Association of Being Bullied and Gender with Suicide Ideations,Self‐Harm,and Suicide Attempts from Adolescence to Young Adulthood: A Cohort Study

Longitudinal associations between being bullied during adolescence and suicide ideations, self‐harm, and suicide attempts into young adulthood were examined. A large representative sample was examined in 1998 (N  = 2,464, MA 13.7), 1999/2000, and 2012 to reassess the outcome measures. At all ages, bullied participants showed more suicide ideation, self‐harm, and suicide attempts, regardless of gender. Bullied females showed a decrease in suicide ideation from adolescence to adulthood, while bullied males showed an increase in suicide attempts in the same time period. Being bullied in adolescence strongly predicts suicidal behavior and self‐harm. Preventive efforts might reduce the risk of later suicidality.     

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。     

Childhood Sexual Abuse and Suicidal Ideation Among Bipolar Patients: Existential But Not Religious Well‐Being as a Protective Factor

Individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder (BD) are at an increased risk of Suicidal ideation, attempts, and death. Moreover, a strong association exists between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and suicidal ideation among individuals with BD. Yet growing evidence suggests that existential well‐being (EWB) may be a protective factor against suicidality. In this study, adult BD patients (N = 112) provided data on CSA, religious well‐being (RWB; spiritual life in relation to God), EWB (purpose/meaning in life), and suicidal ideation. Participants were between 19 and 65 years of age. The majority was female and described their race/ethnicity as African American. Results indicated that CSA was negatively associated with EWB and was not related to RWB. Further, EWB mediated the association between CSA and suicidal ideation, whereas RWB did not. Having meaning/purpose in life may serve as a protective factor against suicidal ideation among individuals with BD who experienced CSA, whereas having a relationship/belief in God may not serve the same function.     

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.     

Suicide ideation as a predictor of treatment outcomes in cognitive-behavioral therapy for unipolar mood disorders

Background/Objective: Suicide ideation is common in depressed patients. However, no studies to date have examined whether pretreatment suicide ideation is associated with poorer outcomes after cognitive-behavioral therapy for adult depression. Method: 475 depressed outpatients (age: M = 39.9 years, SD = 11.71; 60.2% female) took part in a pre-treatment and a post-treatment assessment. Pre-treatment suicide ideation measured with the BDI suicide item was considered as a predictor of treatment outcomes – controlling for age, gender, number of attended therapy sessions, as well as pre-treatment depression severity. Results: Hierarchical regression revealed that age, gender, number of completed therapy sessions and depression severity at baseline could explain 25% of the variance in post-treatment BDI-scores. Adding suicide ideation significantly improved the amount of variance explained to 27%. Treatment outcomes were worse for patients with more severe depression, suicidal patients, patients receiving more therapy-sessions and older patients. Conclusions: Suicide ideation added only little incremental variance to the prospective prediction of post-treatment depression severity. Depressed patients with suicide ideation can attain almost as good treatment outcomes as patients without suicide ideation, which is a clinically encouraging result.     

A Five‐Month Longitudinal Study of Psychache and Suicide Ideation: Replication in General and High‐Risk University Students

Shneidman's (1993) model of psychache as the cause of suicide was evaluated in a 5‐month longitudinal study of psychological pain and suicide ideation. Replicating across general (N = 683) and high‐risk undergraduates (N = 262), psychache was significantly associated with suicide ideation, and change in psychache was significantly associated with change in suicide ideation. For general suicide ideation and suicide preparation, these significant results were maintained even when depression and hopelessness were statistically controlled. This research is a unique contribution being the first large‐sample longitudinal study that evaluates and supports Shneidman's psychache causal model of suicidality in general and high‐risk groups.     

The Association Between Gender,Ethnicity, and Suicidality Among Vocational Students in Israel

Gender and ethnicity are significant factors when evaluating suicidal risk, especially among ethnically diverse populations. In the current study we explored the association between gender, ethnicity, and suicide ideation and attempts among Arab and Jewish vocational education and training high school students in Israel. Students (N = 3,554) completed a self‐report survey evaluating suicide ideation and attempts, depression, anxiety, somatization, and sense of belonging. Hierarchical generalized linear modeling indicated that female Arab adolescents had elevated levels of suicide ideation, higher rates of suicide attempts, and greater psychological distress than Arab males and Jewish students. Furthermore, female Arab adolescents were found to be more susceptible to suicide ideation when depression levels were high. These results are discussed in the context of the double‐jeopardy Arab young women face, as members of a minority ethnic group in Israel and their status as women within the patriarchal Arab culture.     

Effect of Socioeconomic Status on the Linkage Between Suicidal Ideation and Suicide Attempts

Previous suicide attempts are a leading risk factor for completed suicide. To identify specific characteristics of those at high risk for attempts, we investigated associations with socioeconomic status (SES). Data from the 2013 Korean Community Health Survey (KCHS) included adults who reported suicidal ideation (N = 220,245). Attempts in the past 12 months were assessed. Associations of demographic, socioeconomic, and suicide‐related behavioral factors were analyzed using multiple logistic regression. Among those with suicidal ideation, 862 (3.9%) had attempted suicide. After stratification by age and gender, results showed that low education and unemployed young adult men and women had significantly higher rates of attempts. The lowest income level was associated with significantly higher rates of attempts in only young adult women. Among those with the lowest and highest income, the association between ideation and attempts was attenuated, whereas it was enhanced among other income groups.     

Religion and suicidal ideation in a sample of Latin American immigrants

The present study explored the association of measures of religious activities and suicidal ideation in a sample of adult Latin American immigrants (145 women, 56 men). No relationship was found between religious affiliation and suicidal ideation. Self-perception of religiosity, influence of religion, and church attendance were significantly negatively associated with suicidal ideation. A multiple regression analysis showed that influence of religion was a significant predictor of suicidal ideation. The present findings lend empirical support to the notion that high religiosity may play a protective role against suicide.     

Factors Associated with the Medical Severity of Suicide Attempts in Youths and Young Adults

T his study examined factors associated with the medical severity of suicide attempts focusing on demographic characteristics, mental health characteristics, and the circumstances of the suicide attempt. Analyses were based on 153 nearly lethal suicide attempters and 47 less lethal suicide attempters aged 13–34 years who presented to emergency departments in Houston, Texas. The results show that young age was significantly associated with a nearly lethal suicide attempt. Prior suicide attempts, hopelessness, depression, and help‐seeking (ever) were significantly and negatively associated with a nearly lethal suicide attempt. None of the suicide attempt factors occurring prior to the attempt were associated with a nearly lethal suicide attempt.     

Suicidality in Bipolar Disorder: The Role of Emotion‐Triggered Impulsivity

A growing body of research suggests that impulsive responses to emotion more robustly predict suicidality than do other forms of impulsivity. This issue has not yet been examined within bipolar disorder, however. Participants diagnosed with bipolar I disorder (n = 133) and control participants (n = 110) diagnosed with no mood or psychotic disorder completed self‐report measures of emotion‐triggered impulsivity (Negative and Positive Urgency Scales) and interviews concerning lifetime suicidality. Analyses examined the effects of emotion‐triggered impulsivity alone and in combination with gender, age of onset, depression severity, comorbid anxiety, comorbid substance use, and medication. A history of suicide ideation and attempts, as well as self‐harm, were significantly more common in the bipolar disorder group compared with the control group. Impulsive responses to positive emotions related to suicide ideation, attempts, and self‐harm within the bipolar group. Findings extend research on the importance of emotion‐triggered impulsivity to a broad range of key outcomes within bipolar disorder. The discussion focuses on limitations and potential clinical implications.