Perceived Racism and Suicide Ideation: Mediating Role of Depression but Moderating Role of Religiosity among African American Adults

Suicide is a public health problem for African Americans who are young and of working age. The purpose of this study was to examine mediated and moderated effects of perceived racism on suicide ideation in a community sample of 236 African American men and women. Measures of suicide ideation, depression symptoms, intrinsic/extrinsic religiosity, and perceived racism were administered. Perceived racial discrimination was directly and indirectly associated with suicide ideation. For participants who reported low levels of extrinsic religiosity, the mediated effect of perceived racism (via depression symptoms) was significant. These findings provide some insight into suicide vulnerability for specific subgroups of African Americans.     

International and Domestic Students,Perceived Burdensomeness,Belongingness, and Suicidal Ideation

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for traditional‐age college students, and the interpersonal theory of suicide (ITS; Joiner, 2005) provides a cogent framework for predicting which students may be at highest risk. However, little is known about how constructs of ITS operate in cross‐cultural contexts. Findings, based on a sample of international and domestic undergraduate students (N = 254), indicated that the ITS construct of perceived burdensomeness was positively associated with suicidal ideation (SI) for both groups. However, campus belongingness emerged as connected with SI for international students, whereas family belongingness emerged as connected with SI for domestic students.     

Suicidality Among Gay and Bisexual Men in Taiwan: Its Relationships with Sexuality and Gender Role Characteristics,Homophobic Bullying Victimization,and Social Support

This study aimed to examine the associations of suicidality in emerging adulthood with time of coming out, gender role nonconformity, sexual orientation, traditional and cyber homophobic bullying victimization, and family and peer support during childhood in gay and bisexual men in Taiwan. The frequency of “experiencing suicide ideation” and “attempting suicide” in the past year among 500 gay or bisexual men was examined. The participants’ time of coming out, level of subjective masculinity, sexual orientation, experiences of traditional and cyber homophobic bullying victimization, and levels of family and peer support during childhood were also evaluated. In total, 31% (n = 155) of participants reported experiencing suicide ideation (n = 82) or attempting suicide (n = 73). Early coming out, traditional homophobic bullying victimization, and low family support during childhood increased the risk of suicidality in emerging adulthood; by contrast, family support did not moderate the association of early coming out or traditional bullying victimization with current suicidality. A high proportion of participants reported experiencing suicide ideation and attempt in emerging adulthood. Hence, effective suicide prevention is required for gay and bisexual men. Suicide prevention programs should consider time of coming out, traditional homophobic bullying victimization, and level of family support.     

A Systematic Review of Suicide Prevention Programs for Military or Veterans

Military personnel and veterans have important suicide risk factors. After a systematic review of the literature on suicide prevention, seven (five in the U.S.) studies of military personnel were identified containing interventions that may reduce the risk of suicide. The effectiveness of the individual components was not assessed, and problems in methodology or reporting of data were common. Overall, multifaceted interventions for active duty military personnel are supported by consistent evidence, although of very mixed quality, and in some cases during intervals of declines in suicide rates in the general population. There were insufficient studies of U.S. Veterans to reach conclusions.     

A Machine Learning Approach to Identifying the Thought Markers of Suicidal Subjects: A Prospective Multicenter Trial

Death by suicide demonstrates profound personal suffering and societal failure. While basic sciences provide the opportunity to understand biological markers related to suicide, computer science provides opportunities to understand suicide thought markers. In this novel prospective, multimodal, multicenter, mixed demographic study, we used machine learning to measure and fuse two classes of suicidal thought markers: verbal and nonverbal. Machine learning algorithms were used with the subjects’ words and vocal characteristics to classify 379 subjects recruited from two academic medical centers and a rural community hospital into one of three groups: suicidal, mentally ill but not suicidal, or controls. By combining linguistic and acoustic characteristics, subjects could be classified into one of the three groups with up to 85% accuracy. The results provide insight into how advanced technology can be used for suicide assessment and prevention.     

The Great Black Hope: Hope and Its Relation to Suicide Risk among African Americans

Positive psychology has garnered considerable scholarly interest recently and has been suggested to hold promise in the application to suicide research and prevention; however, empirical research has lagged behind these suggestions. This is the first study to examine the relationship between hope and a specific theory of suicide in African Americans. It was hypothesized that (1) hope would negatively predict the interpersonal suicide risk factors of burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness; and positively predict acquired capability to enact suicide; (2) hope would negatively predict suicidal ideation; and (3) the interpersonal suicide risk factors would predict suicidal ideation. Results were primarily as predicted. Implications for hope theory and Joiner's theory of suicidal behavior are discussed, as well as implications for clinical practice.     

Psychological Impairment as a Predictor of Suicide Ideation in Individuals with Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder characterized by severe food restriction resulting in low body weight and an intense fear of gaining weight. This disorder has one of the highest suicide rates of any psychiatric illness; however, few studies have investigated prospective predictors of suicide ideation (SI) in this population. Quality‐of‐life impairment may be particularly relevant for understanding suicide risk in AN, given associations with SI in other psychiatric disorders and associations with chronicity and severity in AN. This study explored associations between eating disorder‐related impairment and SI in individuals with AN (n = 113) who completed assessments at treatment discharge and 3, 6, and 12 months after discharge. Greater psychological impairment predicted future occurrence of SI controlling for age, depression, history of SI, and eating disorder variables. Associations were specific to psychological impairment as other domains of impairment did not predict SI over time. Findings highlight the potential importance of targeting interpersonal–psychological consequences of AN to decrease future suicide risk.