Predicting Suicide Attempts among Treatment‐Seeking Male Alcoholics: An Exploratory Study

Documented risk factors for suicide among alcohol‐dependent patients are sensitive but insufficiently specific to effectively identify individuals who are prone to future suicide attempt. As a first step to assess factors not previously considered, this pilot study involved a group of male alcohol‐dependent patients (N = 175) coming to detoxification to examine the potential utility of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) along with other documented events to discriminate individuals with a history of attempted suicide from their detoxifying peers. Family health history questionnaires were used to evaluate their ACEs. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was applied to examine the predictive power of ACEs, alone or in combination with documented risk factors, to lifetime history of attempted suicide. Among our participants, 48 (27.4%) had a history of a suicide attempt and 156 (89.1%) reported at least one out of the nine categories of ACEs. Modeling by ROC analysis, we found that a cutoff of four or more ACEs plus a history of personal violence achieved the best predictive power to a history of any suicide attempt, producing a sensitivity of 0.7, specificity of 0.81, and area under curve of 0.75. A prospective study to replicate and extend our findings is necessary.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Risk Factors,Warning Signs,and Drivers of Suicide: What Are They,How Do They Differ,and Why Does It Matter?

Research investigating suicide attempts and deaths by suicide has yielded many specific risk factors and warning signs for future suicidal behaviors. Yet, even though these variables are each valuable for suicide prevention efforts, they may be limited in their applicability to clinical practice. The differences among risk factors, warning signs, and “drivers,” which are person‐specific variables that lead individuals to desire death by suicide, are highlighted. The scarce evidence on drivers is described and specific recommendations for conducting future drivers‐focused research and targeting them in clinical practice are suggested.     

Measuring Associations of the Department of Veterans Affairs' Suicide Prevention Campaign on the Use of Crisis Support Services

Campaigns have become popular in public health approaches to suicide prevention; however, limited empirical investigation of their impact on behavior has been conducted. To address this gap, utilization patterns of crisis support services associated with the Department of Veterans Affairs' Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) suicide prevention campaign were examined. Daily call data for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, VCL, and 1‐800‐SUICIDE were modeled using a novel semi‐varying coefficient method. Analyses reveal significant increases in call volume to both targeted and broad resources during the campaign. Findings underscore the need for further research to refine measurement of the effects of these suicide prevention efforts.