Prevalence of Suicide Risk Factors and Suicide‐Related Outcomes in the National Mental Health Study,Colombia

A community survey in 4,426 adults was undertaken as part of the World Mental Health Survey Initiative reporting the prevalence and risk factors for suicide‐related outcomes in Colombia. Lifetime prevalence estimates of suicide ideation, plans, attempts, and risk factors for suicide‐related outcomes were assessed. Retrospective reports of disorders age‐of‐onset were used to study associations between primary mental disorders and first onset of suicide‐related outcomes. Risks of plans and attempts were highest with ideation early age‐of‐onset and within the first year. The highest risk for ideation and attempt among ideators occurred in the 18–29 age group. After first employment (defined as the first paid job accepted by the respondent) and presence of mental disorders constituted risk factors. Impulse‐control disorders were strongest diagnostic predictors.     

Long-term effects of lifestyle changes on well-being and cardiac variables among coronary heart disease patients

OBJECTIVE: To focus on psychological well-being in the Lifestyle Heart Trial (LHT), an intensive lifestyle intervention including diet, exercise, stress management, and group support that previously demonstrated maintenance of comprehensive lifestyle changes and reversal of coronary artery stenosis at 1 and 5 years. DESIGN AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The LHT was a randomized controlled trial using an invitational design. The authors compared psychological distress, anger, hostility, and perceived social support by group (intervention group, n = 28; control group, n = 20) and time (baseline, 1 year, 5 years) and examined the relationships of lifestyle changes to cardiac variables. RESULTS: Reductions in psychological distress and hostility in the experimental group (compared with controls) were observed after 1 year (p < .05). By 5 years, improvements in hostility tended to be maintained relative to the control group, but reductions in psychological distress were reported only by experimental patients with very high 5-year program adherence. Improvements in diet were related to weight reduction and decreases in percent diameter stenosis, and improvements in stress management were related to decreases in percent diameter stenosis at both follow-ups (all p < .05). CONCLUSION: These findings illustrate the importance of targeting multiple health behaviors in secondary prevention of coronary heart disease.     

Psychological resilience and dysfunction among hospitalized survivors of the SARS epidemic in Hong Kong: a latent class approach

OBJECTIVE: To examine trajectories of psychological functioning using latent class analysis on a sample of hospitalized survivors of the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in Hong Kong. DESIGN: A longitudinal study of 997 survivors, recruited from among 1,331 individuals hospitalized for SARS, were interviewed at 6, 12, and 18 months after hospitalization. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Psychological and physical functioning at each time point was measured using the 12-item Medical Outcome Study Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12). RESULTS: Four latent classes were identified--chronic dysfunction, delayed dysfunction, recovery, and resilience. All groups had better physical health than the chronic group. Resilient and recovered individuals had greater social support and less SARS-related worry, and resilient individuals were more likely to be male. The resilient group also had greater social support than the delayed group and better physical functioning than the recovered group. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that longitudinal outcome trajectories following a major health-threat event in an Asian sample bear close resemblance to prototypical trajectories observed in trauma studies using Western samples. Unique predictors of the trajectories included factors observed in previous studies, such as social support, as well as factors of particular relevance to a major disease outbreak, such as SARS-related worry.     

Framing alters risk-taking behavior on a modified Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) in a sex-specific manner

Framing uncertain scenarios to emphasize potential positive or negative elements influences decision making and behavior. The current experiment investigated sex differences in framing effects on risk-taking propensity in a modified version of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). Male and female undergraduates completed questionnaires on sensation seeking, impulsiveness, and risk and benefit perception prior to viewing one of three framing conditions for the BART: (1) positively-framed instructions emphasizing the ability to earn money if balloons were inflated to large size; (2) negatively framed instructions emphasizing the possibility that money could be lost if balloons were inflated to bursting; and (3) completely framed instructions noting both possible outcomes. Results revealed correlations between BART performance and impulsiveness for both sexes. Compared to positive and complete framing, negatively framed instructions decreased balloon inflation time in women but not men, indicating sex differences in response to treatments designed to alter risk-taking behavior.