Evaluation of the Recognizing and Responding to Suicide Risk Training

Changes in attitudes, confidence, and practice behaviors were assessed among 452 clinicians who completed the training, Recognizing and Responding to Suicide Risk, and who work with clients at risk for suicide. Data were collected at three time points. Scores on measures of attitudes toward suicide prevention and confidence to work with clients at risk for suicide improved over time. Clinical practice behaviors improved for assessing and formulating suicide risk, developing suicide prevention treatment plans, and responding to vignettes. Results suggest training can improve clinicians’ attitudes toward suicide, confidence to work with clients at risk for suicide, and, most importantly, clinical practice skills.     

Risk‐Related and Protective Correlates of Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury and Co‐Occurring Suicide Attempts among Incarcerated Women

Individual and environmental correlates of nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) and co‐occurring suicide attempts (SA) among incarcerated women (N = 104) were examined. Participants completed measures of putative risk and protective factors, including coping styles, childhood maltreatment, and hopelessness. Results indicated that active coping was uniquely, negatively associated with the presence and frequency of NSSI, whereas avoidant coping and childhood physical/emotional abuse were positively associated with NSSI frequency. Conversely, among women with a history of NSSI, hopelessness was uniquely, positively associated with the presence and frequency of SA. Further, childhood sexual abuse was associated with the presence of SA, while physical/emotional abuse was associated with SA frequency. Hopelessness was more strongly related to SA frequency than NSSI frequency. These findings help disentangle the unique risk and protective factors for NSSI and co‐occurring SA in incarcerated samples.     

Suicidal Ideation and Sexual Orientation in College Students: The Roles of Perceived Burdensomeness,Thwarted Belongingness,and Perceived Rejection Due to Sexual Orientation

A theoretical model in which perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness were hypothesized to account for the association between sexual orientation and suicidal ideation among college students was tested. Among 198 college students (mean age 21.28 years), gay, lesbian, and bisexual students (n = 50) reported significantly higher levels of perceived burdensomeness and suicidal ideation than heterosexual students. The relationship between sexual orientation and suicidal ideation was partially accounted for by perceived burdensomeness, but not thwarted belongingness. This indirect effect was stronger at higher levels of perceived or anticipated rejection due to one’s sexual orientation. Implications for intervention and prevention science are discussed.     

Self‐Efficacy to Avoid Suicidal Action: Factor Structure and Convergent Validity among Adults in Substance Use Disorder Treatment

Individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) are at high risk of suicidal behaviors, highlighting the need for an improved understanding of potentially influential factors. One such domain is self‐efficacy to manage suicidal thoughts and impulses. Psychometric data about the Self‐Efficacy to Avoid Suicidal Action (SEASA) Scale within a sample of adults seeking SUD treatment (N = 464) is provided. Exploratory factor analysis supported a single self‐efficacy construct. Lower SEASA scores, or lower self‐efficacy, were reported in those with more severe suicidal ideation and those with more suicide attempts, providing evidence for convergent validity. Implications of measuring self‐efficacy in the context of suicide risk assessment are discussed.     

Differentiating Suicide Ideators from Attempters: Violence—A Research Note

Which factors distinguish suicide attempters from suicide ideators is a relatively neglected question in suicidology. Data from the 2001 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, encompassing 1,439 youth suicide ideators and 1,097 attempters, was used to explore which factors best differentiate suicide attempters from ideators, with a focus on violence involvement. Measures of violence include the contexts of fights, dating, and weapons carrying. Controls were incorporated for psychiatric disorders, risky sexual behavior, school integration, and demographics. Controlling for the other variables, violence differentiated attempts from ideation: fighting (OR = 2.18) and weapon carrying (OR = 1.13). Psychiatric factors that predicted attempts over ideation included major depression (OR = 1.86), use of cocaine (OR = 2.34), and having a suicide plan (OR = 2.69), while demographic factors included gender, age, residence in the Midwest, and Hispanic, African American, or Asian ethnicity. A supplementary analysis (N = 11,546) determined that violence also helped to differentiate suicide ideators from nonsuicidal youth. Four factors (including violence involvement, eating disorders, and gender consistently) differentiated both between suicide attempts and ideation, and also between suicide ideators and nonsuicidal youth. The link between violence involvement and suicidality is interpreted in terms of the capability for suicide from the interpersonal theory of suicide.     

The Impact of Exercise on Suicide Risk: Examining Pathways through Depression,PTSD, and Sleep in an Inpatient Sample of Veterans

Suicide has a large public health impact. Although effective interventions exist, the many people at risk for suicide cannot access these interventions. Exercise interventions hold promise in terms of reducing suicide because of their ease of implementation. While exercise reduces depression, and reductions in depressive symptoms are linked to reduced suicidal ideation, no studies have directly linked exercise and suicide risk. The current study examined this association, including potential mediators (i.e., sleep disturbance, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and depression), in a sample of Veterans. SEM analyses revealed that exercise was directly and indirectly associated with suicide risk. Additionally, exercise was associated with fewer depressive symptoms and better sleep patterns, each of which was, in turn, related to lower suicide risk.     

A Review of: “Gurman,A. S. (Ed.). (2008). Clinical Handbook of Couple Therapy (4th Ed.).”

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