Trauma‐Related Guilt Mediates the Relationship between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Suicidal Ideation in OEF/OIF/OND Veterans

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma‐related guilt are risk factors for suicidal ideation (SI) in veterans. Components of trauma‐related guilt were examined as serial mediators of the relationship between PTSD and SI. In a sample of 53 OEF/OIF/OND combat veterans, PTSD had an indirect effect on SI through a serial mediation chain of guilt cognitions, distress, and global guilt, suggesting that trauma‐related guilt via cognitions, distress, and global guilt is a pathway from PTSD to SI. Attention should be given to assessing and addressing trauma‐related guilt in veterans experiencing PTSD to prevent SI.     

Mindfulness Moderates the Association Between Perceived Burdensomeness and Suicide Ideation in Adults With Elevated Depressive Symptoms

A conceptual model in which the associations between perceived burdensomeness and suicide ideation, and between thwarted belongingness and suicide ideation, are moderated by mindfulness was examined. Participants were 218 undergraduates (mean age = 20.81) with moderate‐to‐severe depressive symptoms. Mindfulness significantly moderated the association between perceived burdensomeness and suicide ideation; participants with thoughts of burdensomeness experienced lower levels of suicide ideation if they were high, as opposed to low, in mindfulness. Mindfulness did not significantly moderate the association between thwarted belongingness and suicide ideation. Implications for intervention and elaboration of the interpersonal psychological theory of suicide are discussed.     

Positive and Negative Expectations of Hopelessness as Longitudinal Predictors of Depression,Suicidal Ideation,and Suicidal Behavior in High‐Risk Adolescents

The relationship between hopelessness and depression in predicting suicide‐related outcomes varies based on the anticipation of positive versus negative events. In this prospective study of adolescents at elevated risk for suicide, we used two Beck Hopelessness Scale subscales to assess the impact of positive and negative expectations in predicting depression, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior over a 2‐ to 4‐year period. In multivariate regressions controlling for depression, suicidal ideation, and negative‐expectation hopelessness, positive‐expectation hopelessness was the only significant predictor of depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior. Clinical interventions may benefit from bolstering positive expectations and building optimism.     

Insomnia Symptoms,Nightmares, and Suicide Risk: Duration of Sleep Disturbance Matters

Duration of insomnia symptoms or nightmares was investigated to see if it was related to suicide risk independent of current insomnia symptoms, nightmares, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and posttraumatic symptoms. The cross‐sectional study involved analyses of survey responses from undergraduate students who endorsed either insomnia symptoms (n = 660) or nightmares (n = 312). Both insomnia symptom and nightmare duration were significantly associated with suicide risk independent of current insomnia symptoms or nightmares, respectively. Relations were also significant after controlling for anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and posttraumatic symptoms. Results suggest that duration of sleep disturbance is relevant when assessing suicide risk.     

Can attention select only a fixed number of objects at a time?

Several previous studies have suggested that we may attend only a fixed number of 'objects' at a time. However, whereas findings from two-target experiments suggest that we can attend only one object at a time, other results from object-tracking and enumeration paradigms point instead to a four-object limit. Here, we note that in these previous studies the number of objects covaried with the overall size and complexity of the stimulus, such that apparent one-object or four-object limits in those tasks may reflect changes in the complexity of attended stimuli, rather than the number of objects per se. Accordingly, in the current experiments we employ stimuli in which the number of objects varies, while overall size and complexity are held constant. Using these refined measures of object-based effects, we find no evidence for a one-object or four-object limit on attention. Indeed, we conclude that the number of attended objects does not affect how efficiently we can attend a given stimulus. We propose and test an alternative approach to object-based attention limitations based on within-object and between-object feature-binding mechanisms in human vision.     

Decision Making in Social Context in Patients with Suicide Attempt History

Decision making has been found to be altered in suicide attempters, but little is known of their performance in social contexts. Twenty‐seven depressed suicide attempters (DSA), 25 nonsuicidal depressed patients (DP), and 60 healthy participants (HC) were evaluated by a decision‐making task in social context . Results indicated DSA and DP obtained lower gains and invested more money with angry partners. DSA were found to invest less money than DP and HC with happy partners. DSA showed insensitivity toward rewards/punishment contingency, and they did not use the socioemotional stimuli to guide their decisions.     

Coping Card Usage can Further Reduce Suicide Reattempt in Suicide Attempter Case Management Within 3‐Month Intervention

This randomized controlled trial was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of using crisis coping cards (n = 32) in the case management of suicide prevention compared with case management without the use of coping cards (n = 32) over a 3‐month intervention period. The generalized estimating equation was used to examine the interaction effect between treatments and time on suicide risk, depression, anxiety, and hopelessness. Results indicated that subsequent suicidal behaviors, severity of suicide risk, depression, anxiety, and hopelessness were reduced more in the coping card intervention group compared to the case management only group. Moreover, for the survival curves of time to suicide reattempt, the coping card group showed a significantly longer time to reattempt than the case management only group at 2‐month and 3‐month intervention periods.     

Effectiveness of Abstinence‐Based Sex Education Curricula: A Review

Teenage premarital sexual activity has become an important concern for parents and educators in recent years. Many attempts have been made to address this problem in order to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. The authors review some of those efforts and attempt to identify the approaches that seem to be effective. Implications for research are also presented.