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.     

Attempted Suicide in a Xhosa Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorder Population

Suicide risk behavior is a significant contributor to the mortality and morbidity of schizophrenia. We previously reported affected sibship status in a Xhosa schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder sample to be protective in nature; given the counterintuitive nature of this finding, we expanded the sample size to seek further clarification. Subjects were assessed with the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies and then stratified into two groups: with (n = 137) or without (n = 837) a previous suicide attempt. The presence of lifetime bizarre behavior (OR 1.5; 95%CI 1.12–1.87) or cannabis use or abuse (OR 1.2; 95%CI 10.01–1.47) was a significant predictor of suicide attempts, while a higher global alogia score (OR 0.84; 95%CI 0.74–0.96) was a protective factor. Our data seem to support that in this population, encouraging family members to report bizarre behavior and implementing dual diagnosis interventions for cannabis use or abuse could be an appropriate starting point toward developing a targeted suicide prevention program for further research.     

Suicidality,Self‐Harm,and Body Dissatisfaction in Transgender Adolescents and Emerging Adults with Gender Dysphoria

Prevalence of suicide attempts, self‐injurious behaviors, and associated psychosocial factors were examined in a clinical sample of transgender (TG) adolescents and emerging adults (n = 96). Twenty‐seven (30.3%) TG youth reported a history of at least one suicide attempt and 40 (41.8%) reported a history of self‐injurious behaviors. There was a higher frequency of suicide attempts in TG youth with a desire for weight change, and more female‐to‐male youth reported a history of suicide attempts and self‐harm behaviors than male‐to‐female youth. Findings indicate that this population is at a high risk for psychiatric comorbidities and life‐threatening behaviors.     

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.     

Does Reintegration Stress Contribute to Suicidal Ideation Among Returning Veterans Seeking PTSD Treatment?

Although posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychiatric symptoms are well‐established risk factors for suicidal ideation among returning veterans, less attention has been paid to whether the stress of reintegrating into civilian society contributes to suicidal ideation. Utilizing a sample of 232 returning veterans (95% male, mean age = 33.63 years) seeking PTSD treatment, this study tested whether reintegration difficulties contribute to suicidal ideation over and above the influence of PTSD symptoms, depression symptoms, and potential substance misuse. Logistic regressions indicated that reintegration stress had a unique effect on suicidal ideation over and above PTSD and depression symptoms. Reintegration stress interacted with substance misuse to predict suicidal ideation, such that the effect of reintegration stress on suicidal ideation was much larger for those with potential substance misuse. Exploratory analyses also examined which types of reintegration difficulties were associated with suicidal ideation, and found that difficulty maintaining military friendships, difficulty getting along with relatives, difficulty feeling like you belong in civilian society, and difficulty finding meaning/purpose in life were all significantly associated with suicidal ideation, beyond the effects of psychiatric symptoms and potential substance misuse. Findings highlight the importance of addressing reintegration stress for the prevention of suicide among returning veterans. Implications for treatment are discussed.     

Examining the Interpersonal–Psychological Theory of Suicide in an Inpatient Veteran Sample

Suicide among veterans is a pressing public health concern. The interpersonal–psychological theory of suicide proposes that perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness lead to suicidal desire, whereas the acquired capability for suicide leads to suicide attempt in the presence of suicidal desire (Joiner, 2005). Two hypotheses derived from the interpersonal–psychological theory of suicide were tested in 185 veterans (96 women) entering inpatient psychiatric treatment. Burdensomeness and its interaction with belongingness significantly predicted current suicidal ideation. The three‐way interaction between burdensomeness, belongingness, and acquired capability did not significantly predict number of past suicide attempts. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Development of a Scale to Assess Knowledge about Suicide Postvention using Item Response Theory

Knowledge about suicide postvention (KSPV) is an important distal outcome in the evaluation of suicide prevention programs that focus on the bereaved. However, most scales are specifically tailored to the evaluation study in question and psychometric properties are often unsatisfactory. Therefore, we developed the KSPV scale. Scale properties were investigated with Rasch trees, a newly developed method in the framework of item response theory. Additionally, we provide cues for convergent validity. In summary, the scale shows satisfactory properties for assessing KSPV and could be used to evaluate suicide postvention programs more effectively.