Individuals with problem solving deficits, and higher levels of neuroticism and hopelessness, are at increased risk for suicide, yet little is known about the interrelationships between these vulnerability characteristics. In a sample of 223 low-income, primary care patients, we examined the potential mediating role of hopelessness on the relation between neuroticism and suicidal behavior, and the potential moderating role of social problem solving ability. Participants completed self-report questionnaires: Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised, Social Problem Solving Inventory-Revised, Beck Hopelessness Scale, and NEO Five Factor Inventory. Models were tested using bootstrapped moderated mediation techniques. There was a significant indirect effect of neuroticism on suicidal behavior through hopelessness, and this indirect effect was moderated by social problem solving ability. Patients with greater neuroticism also manifest greater levels of hopelessness and, in turn, more suicidal behavior, and these relations are strengthened at lower levels of social problem solving. Interventions that increase social problem solving ability and reduce hopelessness may reduce suicide risk.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Purpose: To examine the association of affective experience and health-related quality of life in lung cancer patients, we hypothesized that negative affect would be positively, and positive affect would be negatively, associated with perceived health. Methods: A sample of 133 English-speaking lung cancer patients (33% female; mean age = 63.68 years old, SD = 9.37) completed a battery of self-report surveys. Results: Results of our secondary analysis indicate that trait negative affect was significantly associated with poor physical and social functioning, greater role limitations due to emotional problems, greater bodily pain, and poor general health. Positive affect was significantly associated with adaptive social functioning, fewer emotion-based role limitations, and less severe bodily pain. In a full model, positive affect was significantly associated with greater levels of social functioning and general health, over and above the effects of negative affect. Conclusions: Reduction of negative affect is an important therapeutic goal, but the ability to maintain positive affect may result in greater perceived health. Indeed, engagement in behaviors that result in greater state positive affect may, over time, result in dispositional changes and enhancement of quality of life.

Suicide is a significant public health concern at a global level and occurs at a greater rate in rural compared with urban areas. A review of the literature on rural suicide indicates that a growing body of empirical, theoretical, and prevention work has been conducted on the topic, with an increasing number of countries represented and articles written. From an ecological perspective, current data and models suggest that our approach to understanding and preventing rural suicide must be multifaceted, addressing the individual level (e.g., traditional risk factors such as psychiatric illness), as well as the microsystem (e.g., family and peer relations), mesosystem (e.g., the interconnectedness between microsystems), exosystem (e.g., the rural community), and macrosystem (e.g., social norms) levels. Geographic and interpersonal isolation, agricultural or otherwise hazardous vocational demands, environmental and governmental policies, availability of means, lack of access to care and rural ideologies appear to contribute to suicide risk. Interventions must be community-driven, culturally acceptable and feasible within the context of available resources to be effective. Prospective research on risk and protective factors for rural suicide is required, as is development, implementation and assessment of interventions that are originated by, implemented in, and sensitive to the needs of rural communities.

Associations between the satisfaction of basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness with current suicidal ideation and risk for suicidal behavior were examined. Two logistic regressions were conducted with a cross-sectional database of 440 university students to examine the association of need satisfaction with suicidal ideation and risk for suicidal behavior, while controlling for demographics and depressive symptoms. Suicidal ideation was reported by 15% of participants and 18% were found to be at risk for suicidal behavior. A one standard deviation increase in need satisfaction reduced the odds of suicidal ideation by 53%, OR (95% CI) = 0.47 (0.33–0.67), and the odds of being at risk for suicidal behavior by 50%, OR (95% CI) = 0.50 (0.37–0.69). Young adults whose basic psychological needs are met may be less likely to consider suicide and engage in suicidal behavior. Prospective research is needed to confirm these associations.

Objective: Psychological thriving reflects a trajectory of growth over time as opposed to scaling back expectations. Whether thriving is a product, precursor, or process of coping with arthritis-related limitations is unclear. We examined associations between thriving, coping efficacy, and expectations for future growth in individuals with arthritis, and the relations of thriving to depressive symptoms and retrospective perceptions of personal growth over a six-month period. Methods: A sample of 423 people with arthritis completed measures of thriving, coping efficacy, depressive symptoms, and expectations for future growth; 168 individuals completed a six-month follow-up survey. Structural equation modeling analyses compared three possible models of psychological thriving, controlling for disease-related variables. Hierarchical regression analyses of the cross-lagged associations of thriving with retrospective perceptions of positive personal change and depressive symptoms were also conducted. Results: Structural equation analyses suggest that the process model in which thriving and coping efficacy jointly predicted expectations for future growth best fit the data. Baseline thriving was also associated with retrospective perceptions of personal growth at follow-up and fewer depressive symptoms at baseline and follow-up, after controlling for disease-related variables. Conclusion: Overall, these findings suggest that psychological thriving is synergistically related to coping efficacy, and to expectations for future growth and less depression, in people with arthritis. Importantly, our findings support the notion that psychological thriving is more than scaling back expectations, and that thriving may be an important quality to cultivate to address the burden of depression in people with arthritis.

Book Summary: Positive psychology has become a vibrant, well-regarded field of study, and a powerful tool for clinicians. But, for many years, the research in areas relevant to positive psychology, such as happiness, subjective well-being, and emotional intelligence, has been based on findings from largely White samples and has rarely taken the concerns of the ethnic community into consideration. Now, for the first time, leaders in the field have come together to provide a comprehensive reference that focuses specifically on how a culturally-informed approach to positive psychology can help capitalize on the strengths of racial minority groups and have a greater potential to positively impact their psychological well-being. Acting as a bridge between positive psychology theory and research—largely based on an essentialist view of human behavior—and the realities of practice and assessment in diverse groups, Positive Psychology in Racial and Ethnic Groups focuses on four main ethnic groups: Asian Americans, Latin Americans, African Americans, and American Indians.

This study examined the construct validity of the RiTE as a multidimensional measure of spirituality in relation to the five-factor model of personality in a sample of 325 college students. Results of correlational and regression analyses provided support for the notion that the dimensions of ritualistic, theistic, and existential spirituality tapped by the RiTE, are empirically distinguishable. Overall, our findings provide further evidence for the construct validity of the RiTE and for the potential value of measuring spirituality as a multidimensional phenomenon in the study of religious processes.