The present study sought to examine for how loneliness and sexual assault are involved in predicting suicidal risk (viz., hopelessness & suicide probability) in a sample of 334 college students. Specifically, we were interested in examining whether sexual assault may play an additive as well as interactive role in the prediction of suicidal risk above and beyond loneliness. Results from regression analyses indicated that both loneliness and sexual assault were important and unique predictors of suicidal risk in students. Moreover, consistent with expectations, we found support for a Loneliness × Sexual Assault interaction in predicting both hopelessness and suicide probability. Inspection of the interactions indicated that the highest levels of suicidal risk were present for lonely students who had experienced some form of sexual assault. Some important implications of the present findings are discussed.

In the present study, we examined hope and positive problem orientation as additive predictors of suicidal risk, namely, hopelessness and suicide behavior, in a sample of 155 (37 males and 118 females) Latinos. Consistent with expectations, we found hope and positive problem orientation to be associated with lower suicidal risk. In addition, results of conducting hierarchical regression analyses indicated that hope accounted for significant variance in both indices of suicidal risk. Moreover, the inclusion of positive problem orientation as a predictor was found to account for additional unique variance in both indices of suicidal risk, beyond what was accounted for by hope. Finally, results of conducting additional analyses indicated a significant Hope × Positive Problem Orientation interaction effect in accounting for suicidal risk. Some implications of the present findings are discussed.

The equivocal and debated findings from a 2007 meta-analysis, which viewed perfectionism as a unidimensional construct, suggested that perfectionism was unrelated to procrastination. The present meta-analysis aimed to provide a conceptual update and reanalysis of the procrastination–perfectionism association guided by both a multidimensional view of perfectionism and self-regulation theory. The random-effects meta-analyses revealed a small to medium positive average effect size (r = .23; k = 43, N = 10 000; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) [0.19, 0.27]) for trait procrastination and perfectionistic concerns and a small to medium negative average effect size (r = −.22; k = 38, N = 9544; 95% CI [−0.26, −0.18]) for procrastination and perfectionistic strivings. The average correlations remained significant after statistically accounting for the joint variance between the two perfectionism dimensions via semi-partial correlations. For perfectionistic concerns, but not perfectionistic strivings, the effects depended on the perfectionism measure used. All effects did not vary by the trait procrastination measure used or the respondent's sex. Our findings confirm that from a multidimensional perspective, trait procrastination is both positively and negatively associated with higher-order perfectionism dimensions and further highlights the value of a self-regulation perspective for understanding the cognitive, affective and behavioural dynamics that characterise these traits.

The present study sought to examine a diathesis-stress model involving hope and trauma history as predictors of depressive and anxious symptoms in a sample of 575 college students. Results from regression analyses indicated that hope and trauma were important and unique predictors of both depressive and anxious symptoms in students. Moreover, we found support for a significant Hope×Trauma interaction in predicting both depressive and anxious symptoms. Some implications of the present findings are discussed.

This study examined hope agency and pathway as potential mediators of the associations of religiosity and spirituality with depressive symptoms in an adult sample of 101 primary care adults. Results of conducting multiple mediation tests indicated that hope agency and pathway fully and significantly accounted for the associations of religiosity and spirituality with depressive symptoms. In contrast, an alternative mediation model involving religiosity and spirituality as potential mediators of the associations of hope agency and pathway with depressive symptoms failed to be supported. Overall, our findings offer support for the contention that hope agency and pathway play important roles in accounting for the associations of religiosity and spirituality with psychological adjustment in adults. Some implications of the present findings are discussed.

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Suicide rates are higher in veterans than civilians, perhaps due to increased trauma exposure (e.g., sexual trauma, combat). However, not all veterans who experience trauma are at increased risk for suicidal behavior as some may experience an increased sense of purpose and meaning in life via posttraumatic growth (PTG). PTG, conceptualized as a positive transformation following trauma that results in improved function, may involve changes in cognitive-emotional processing, including increased feelings of connectedness and perceptions of value and contribution contributing to the well-being of others, as well as beneficial shifts in mood. The interpersonal theory of suicide posits that individuals who feel isolated (thwarted belongingness; TB), or like a burden (perceived burdensomeness; PB) are at increased risk for depression and suicidal ideation and attempts. Veterans who experience PTG after trauma may experience a beneficial shift in perceptions related to interpersonal needs (e.g., feel more connected, feel like less of a burden), with consequent benefits to mood and suicide risk. This premise has not been previously examined; therefore, we assessed the serial mediating effects of thwarted interpersonal needs (i.e., TB and PB, in separate models) and depression on the link between PTG and suicidal behavior. Participants (N=545; 70.1% male (n=382); 86.4% Caucasian (n=469), Mean Age=49.86, SD=16.78) were community-dwelling veterans, who completed the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire, Multidimensional Health Profile, and Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised. Bivariate correlations and serial mediation analyses were conducted covarying age, sex, and ethnicity. Serial mediation analyses supported hypotheses (10,000 bootstrapped samples); the total indirect effect of PTG on suicidal behaviors was significant when thwarted belongingness (IE= -.024, SE= .005, CI= -.036 to -.015) and perceived burdensomeness (IE= -.024, SE= .006, CI= -.036 to -.014), along with depression, were examined as serial mediators. Specific indirect effects of PTG on suicidal behaviors were also significant through thwarted belongingness (IE= -.015, SE= .005, CI= -.026 to -.008) in the first model and perceived burdensomeness (IE= -.016, SE= -.005, CI= -.027 to -.008) in the second model; however, there were no specific indirect effects observed through depressive symptoms in either model. Our results suggest that the relation between PTG and reduced suicidal behavior may be due to serial, adaptive shifts in cognitive-emotional processing related to interpersonal functioning and mood which, in turn, beneficially impact mood and suicide risk. Of note, there were no significant specific indirect effects with depressive symptoms. This pattern elucidates a potential mechanism between PTG and suicidal behavior, highlighting that the process of PTG does not, initially, involve a reduction of depressive symptoms but, rather, an improvement in perceptions regarding social connectedness and social self-value that has a cascading effect on mental health functioning. Our findings may have clinical implications. Cognitive reframing of traumatic events (e.g., via Cognitive Processing Therapy) and bolstering relationships and the perception of one’s value in a social network (e.g., via Interpersonal Therapy) may reduce depression and suicide risk in veterans.

Prevalence of PTSD is higher in veterans compared to the general population, with between 12 and 31% of veterans, across combat eras, developing PTSD during their lifetime, compared to 7-8% of civilians, perhaps as a result of military-related experiences (e.g., combat, sexual trauma). Such experiences contribute to the detrimental cognitive-emotional processes, including shame and guilt, which precipitate and maintain post-traumatic stress disorder. Yet, some persons experiencing trauma also experience post-traumatic growth as a result, exhibiting resiliency and, in some cases, even thriving. The mechanism of action for post-traumatic growth (PTG), which is conceptualized as a positive change following trauma (i.e., finding purpose and meaning in life), is unknown, but may involve adaptive schema restructuring (e.g., temporal shifts). Specifically, PTG may involve changes to time-perspective, or the tendency for a person to consider their life as a function of, or in the context of, the past (e.g., past trauma, nostalgia), present (e.g., positive/negative) or future (e.g., goals). The ability, for instance, to temporally transcend the past or present and focus on a more-adaptive future, may contribute to a reduction in the ruminative processes so often involved in shame and guilt, whereas maladaptive temporal views (e.g., negative past and present) may exacerbate guilt and shame. However, this premise has not been tested. We hypothesized that time perspective would mediate the association between PTG and shame/guilt, such that higher levels of PTG would be associated with higher levels of adaptive temporality/lower levels of maladaptive temporality and, in turn, to lower /higher levels of shame and guilt. Participants (N=545; 70.1% male (n=382); 86.4% Caucasian (n=469), Mean Age=49.86, SD=16.78) were community-dwelling veterans who self-identified as having experienced a trauma, and completed the PTG Inventory, Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, and Differential Emotions Scale-IV. Bivariate correlations and simple mediation analyses were conducted covarying age, sex, ethnicity, VHA usage, and service era. Supporting hypotheses, in simple mediation analyses (10000 bootstrapped samples), the direct effect of PTG on shame (DE=-.0134, SE=.0098, p=.1720, IE 95% CI=-.0327 to .0059) and guilt (DE=-.0085, SE=.0100, p=.3919, IE 95% CI=-.0281 to .0110) was reduced, and fell out of significance, when future time perspective was added as a mediator, indicating full mediation. The direct effects of PTG on shame and guilt were reduced, but remained significant, when present hedonistic, present fatalistic, past negative, and past positive were added as mediators, indicating partial mediation. Our results suggest that the relation between posttraumatic growth and shame/guilt may be due, in part, to changes in cognitive-emotional processing related to temporality. The PTG process may involve adaptive shifts in time perspective that, in turn, beneficially impact negative emotions associated with trauma exposure. Our findings may have clinical implications. Promotion of acceptance and meaning (e.g., via Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) to foster posttraumatic growth, and encouraging temporal holism (e.g., Cognitive Processing Therapy, Time Perspective Therapy), may reduce shame and guilt associated with trauma in the veteran population.

Suicide rates are higher in veterans compared to the general population, making up a disproportionate 22% of suicides reported annually in the U.S. One factor related to suicidal behavior among veterans is increased exposure to traumatic events. However, not all traumatized veterans engage in suicidal behavior, perhaps due to the presence of protective factors. One such factor, forgiveness (of self, others, and by God), conceptualized as a positive change in cognition, emotion, and behavior, toward a transgressor or transgression, may buffer against suicide risk by facilitating a “letting go” of experienced offenses, and by allowing individuals to respond to trauma in a meaningful way via posttraumatic growth (PTG). This premise has not been tested, however. We hypothesized that forgiveness and PTG would be positively related with each other, and negatively related to suicidal behaviors. We also hypothesized that PTG would mediate the association between forgiveness and suicidal behaviors, such that higher levels of forgiveness would be associated with greater PTG and, in turn, to less suicidal behavior. Participants (N=545; 70.1% male (n=382); 86.4% Caucasian (n=469), Mean Age=49.86, SD=16.78) were community-dwelling veterans who self-identified as having experienced a trauma, and completed the PTG Inventory, the forgiveness subscale from the Fetzer Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness and Spirituality, and Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised. Bivariate correlations and simple mediation analyses were conducted covarying age, sex, and ethnicity. Supporting bivariate hypotheses (p-values

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