Factors that Influence Chaplains’ Suicide Intervention Behavior in the Army

We surveyed 868 Army chaplains and 410 chaplain assistants (CAs) about their role in identifying, caring for, and referring soldiers at risk of suicide to behavioral health care. We applied structural equation modeling to identify how behaviors and attitudes related to intervention behavior. In both samples, reluctance and stigma were related to intervention behaviors; efficacy was correlated with intervention behaviors only among chaplains. Training was associated with increased efficacy and lower levels of stigma among chaplains. Improved training may be warranted, but research needs to identify why chaplains and CAs are reluctant to refer soldiers in distress to behavioral health care.     

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.     

Helping Callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Who Are at Imminent Risk of Suicide: Evaluation of Caller Risk Profiles and Interventions Implemented

Crisis lines are settings where identifying individuals at imminent risk of suicidal behavior and intervening to keep them safe are critical activities. We examined clinical characteristics of crisis callers assessed by telephone crisis helpers as being at imminent risk of suicide, and the interventions implemented with these callers. Data were derived from 491 call reports completed by 132 helpers at eight crisis centers in the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network. Helpers actively engaged the callers in collaborating to keep themselves safe on 76.4% of calls and sent emergency services without the callers' collaboration on 24.6% of calls. Four different profiles of imminent risk calls emerged. Caller profiles and some helper characteristics were associated with intervention type. Our findings provide a first step toward an empirical formulation of imminent risk warning signs and recommended interventions.     

An Examination of Historical Loss Thinking Frequency and Rumination on Suicide Ideation in American Indian Young Adults

No research has empirically investigated whether frequency of historical loss thinking is a potential risk factor for suicide ideation in American Indians. Results of this study demonstrated that the frequency of historical loss thinking was positively associated with brooding and reflection at a small magnitude, but was not directly related to suicide ideation. Bootstrapping analyses indicated small indirect effects of historical loss thinking frequency on suicide ideation through brooding and reflection individually, but only through brooding when analyzed in a parallel mediation model. These findings suggest that American Indians who more frequently engage in historical loss thinking may be susceptible to suicide ideation via an increase in ruminative tendencies, specifically brooding.     

The Incremental Utility of Emotion Regulation But Not Emotion Reactivity in Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury

This study assessed the incremental utility of emotion reactivity and emotion regulation in relation to nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI). Participants included 379 college students aged 18–22 who completed self‐report measures of emotion regulation, emotion reactivity, and NSSI. Emotion regulation was significantly related to NSSI both ignoring and controlling for reactivity, but the reverse was not true. Participants' use of NSSI for affect regulation appeared to moderate this relation. Findings support emotion regulation deficits as a target for intervention over and above heightened emotion reactivity, especially in those who use NSSI to regulate negative affect.     

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.     

A preliminary study of a traumatic injury prevention program

Abstract

This study examined the long-term impact of a five component spinal cord injury prevention program presented to adolescents. A sample of 445 teenagers who attended a junior high school in which an educational intervention was presented three years earlier and a control group of 379 students who had not been exposed to the intervention completed a questionnaire assessing their safety knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported behaviors. Total scores on the questionnaire between treatment and control groups differed significantly. Students in the treatment group reported significantly more frequent seat belt use, stronger belief that seat belts were important to their safety, lower likelihood of riding with friends who had been drinking, higher rates of friends' use of seat belts, greater awareness of the age group most likely to be injured, and increased knowledge that they could prevent spinal cord injury.     

Does post-event cognitive load undermine thought suppression and increase intrusive memories after exposure to an analogue stressor?

Ironic process theory has been used in part to explain the phenomenon of intrusive memories in various disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder. How thought suppression interacts with other cognitive processes believed to be instrumental in the development of traumatic intrusive memory was tested. In an analogue design 120 participants were randomised to five conditions, four of which also required participants to attempt to suppress intrusive memories after viewing a film of traumatic content. Participants in three conditions were also required to perform concurrent tasks that acted as a cognitive load during suppression. Intrusive memories were recorded during the experimental phase and at 1-week follow-up. Contrary to predictions, post-film processing did not undermine suppression success. There was some suggestion that post-film processing resulted in those participants experiencing intrusions of shorter duration than the no-suppression control group in two 5-minute intrusion monitoring intervals at the initial and follow-up phase of the experiment, but this was not reflected in a 1-week diary measure of intrusions. All experimental groups performed in a similar fashion in terms of memory testing of the film's content. The findings are discussed in the context of ironic process theory and cognitive models of post-traumatic stress.     

Assessing visual search performance differences between Transportation Security Administration Officers and nonprofessional visual searchers

Some visual searches depend upon accuracy (e.g., radiology, airport security screening), and it is important for both theoretical and applied reasons to understand what factors best predict performance. The current study administered a visual search task to both professional (Transportation Security Administration Officers) and nonprofessional (members of Duke University) searchers to examine group differences in which factors predict accuracy. Search speed—time taken to terminate search—was the primary predictor for nonprofessional searchers (accounting for 59% of their accuracy variability) and for the least experienced professional searchers (37% of variability). In contrast, consistency—how similarly (in terms of search speed) an individual spent searching from trial to trial—was the primary predictor for the most experienced professional visual searchers (39% of variability). These results inform cognitive theory by illuminating factors that differentially affect search performance between participants, and real-world issues by identifying search behaviours (consistency in particular) important to experienced professional searchers.