Involuntary autobiographical memories are highly dependent on abstract cuing: the Proustian view is incorrect

This study investigated whether involuntary autobiographical memories are more likely to be elicited by fundamental sensory/perceptual cues (the popular Proustian interpretation) or abstract type of cues (thought and language based cues). Participants recorded their involuntary memories and the cues that elicited them outside of the laboratory for a period of two weeks. The results showed that involuntary memories were more likely to be elicited by abstract types of cues than sensory/perceptual cues, thus indicating that the popular Proustian view is incorrect. The higher rate of abstract cuing suggests that involuntary memory retrieval shares some common features with voluntary memory retrieval. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Body Mass Index Is an Important Predictor for Suicide: Results from a Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

Public health concerns for the independent management of obesity and suicidal behavior are rising. Emerging evidence suggests body weight plays an important role in quantifying the risk of suicide. In light of these findings, we aimed to clarify the association between body mass index (BMI) and suicidal behavior by systematically reviewing and evaluating the literature. Studies were identified by searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL from inception to January 2015, supplemented by hand and grey literature searches. Study screening, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment were conducted in duplicate. We included 38 observational studies. Meta‐analyses supported an inverse association between BMI and completed suicide. Pooled summary estimates demonstrated that underweight was significantly associated with an increased risk of completed suicide (HR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.36, p = .002), and obesity (HR = 0.71, 95% CI 0.56 to 0.89, p = .003) and overweight (HR = 0.78, 95% CI 0.75 to 0.82, p < .0001) were significantly associated with a decreased risk of completed suicide relative to normal weight. A qualitative summary of the literature demonstrated conflicting evidence regarding the association between BMI and attempted suicide and revealed no association between BMI and suicidal ideation. BMI may be used to aid the assessment of suicide risk, especially that of completed suicide. However, unmeasured confounders and systematic biases of individual studies limit the quality of evidence.     

Correlates of Suicidal Behavior in a Juvenile Detention Population

The present study identifies the correlates of current suicidal ideation and past suicide attempt among 555 adolescents in a county juvenile detention center. Suicidal behavior in delinquent boys was generally associated with depression and decreased social connection, whereas suicidal behavior in delinquent girls was associated with impulsivity and instability. Current ideation was most significantly associated with current depression. In multivariate analyses, past attempts were associated with suicidal ideation and ineffective coping for males, with major life events and impulsivity for females, and with not residing with at least one biological parent prior to detention for both males and females.