Identifying psychological factors that can predict suicide risk is essential for reducing suicide rates. Shneidman (1993) postulated that psychache (or psychological pain) is a unique predictor of suicide when controlling for other relevant factors such as depression and hopelessness. Previous cross-sectional research has established a relationship between psychache and suicidality, leaving the question of whether or not feelings of psychache actually precede suicidal behaviours unanswered. Two studies were undertaken to increase knowledge on the relationship of depression, hopelessness, and psychache to suicidality. Psychological variables were examined prospectively to allow inferences to be drawn on their causal implications for suicidality. In Study 1, students (n = 1475) completed the Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Hopelessness Scale, Psychache Scale, Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation and provided information about prior suicidal behaviour. Regression analyses revealed that psychache was most strongly associated with suicidality, but that depression and hopelessness still contributed unique variance in the prediction of some suicidal outcomes. In Study 2, a subset of suicide ideators and attempters completed identical materials 10 weeks later (n = 90) and then another 10 weeks after that (n = 56). Again, regression analyses revealed that psychache was most strongly associated with suicidality. When looking at changes over time, dropping one predictor at a time could not overcome problems of multicollinearity, as most models were significant, but with no individual prediction from the factors. Results from models with significant regression coefficients revealed that psychache, hopelessness, and depression may be causes for suicide ideation. Theoretical and practical implications for the statistical prediction of suicide risk are discussed. / Thesis (Master, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2013-03-20 10:53:20.277

Suicide takes the lives of over 3,500 Canadians each year, making prevention an important public health concern. Identifying psychological predictors of suicide risk is essential because these variables may be amenable to change in treatment, unlike demographic or historical factors. Although past research reveals that both hopelessness and depression are moderately strong predictors of suicidal outcomes, neither one of these constructs alone, or combined, is able to fully account for suicidality. Shneidman postulated that a different psychological construct, termed psychache, is a unique predictor of suicide when controlling for depression and hopelessness, and research has supported this assertion. Although evidence for psychache as a predictor of suicidal outcomes is accumulating, previous research has limitations, namely the use of cross-sectional research and a focus on healthy student populations. In addition, it has been suggested that because scales measuring depression, hopelessness, and psychache correlate highly, they are not distinct constructs, but instead represent a single syndrome. The general purpose of the current studies is to establish the importance of psychache as a predictor of suicidal ideation. In order to address past limitations in the literature on psychache, three related studies were conducted. The first study was cross-sectional and examined a general group of undergraduate students. Factor analysis showed that psychache, depression, and hopelessness are three correlated, but distinct, variables. The second study was a longitudinal study where self-report measures were administered to high-risk undergraduate students. A two-year follow-up revealed that psychache was the only significant predictor of suicidal ideation at follow-up, and that its inclusion rendered the predictive value of depression and hopelessness to nonsignificant levels. The final study involved two groups of undergraduates and was a longitudinal study with a five-month follow-up. One group was a general university sample, and the other was a group of high-risk students. The two groups were analyzed separately, but showed almost identical results, lending support to the generalization of results from university samples to clinical samples. In addition, for each group, psychache was a unique predictor of suicidal ideation and suicide preparation, after controlling for depression and hopelessness. Overall, these studies suggest that psychache is distinct from depression and hopelessness, and is a better predictor of suicidality than depression or hopelessness when studied longitudinally in both general and high-risk undergraduate students. The findings also indicate congruence between low and high-risk samples, highlighting the generalizability of psychache as a predictor. This research has implications for the assessment of suicide risk and treatment for individuals experiencing suicidal ideation. It is hoped that these studies will help bring psychache forward as a pre-eminent risk factor alongside depression and hopelessness. / Thesis (Ph.D, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2014-04-26 12:13:48.797

Although female inmates are considered to be the population who are at high risk of committing suicide, little attention has been paid to this field, since most of suicide in correctional facilities are typically committed by males. This paper attempted to investigate some psychological factors which may affect female inmates’ suicidal ideation. Specifically, this paper focused on the role of psychache, intense and chronic psychological pain which leads to suicide. The data was collected from 95 female inmates in two Canadian prisons. The results indicated that psychache was the only factor which predicted the participants’ level of suicidal ideation. Therefore, it is suggested that the screening tools which focus on psychache will be useful in examining the inmates’ risk of suicide. Also, it shows that for the successful rehabilitation, providing the treatment which precisely addresses psychache among inmates is important.

BACKGROUND: Suicide is a leading cause of maternal death globally, and suicide prevalence rates have been shown to be increased in those with migraine. No previous study has examined the association between migraine and suicidal ideation during pregnancy. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between migraine and suicidal ideation among a cohort of pregnant women. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 3372 pregnant women attending prenatal care clinics in Lima, Peru. Suicidal ideation and depression were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scale during early pregnancy. Migraine classification (including migraine and probable migraine) was based on International Classification of Headache Disorders-III beta criteria. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). RESULTS: Suicidal ideation was more common among those with migraine (25.6%) as compared to those with probable migraine (22.1%, P < .001) or non-migraineurs (12.3%, P < .001). After adjusting for confounders, including depression, those with migraine or probable migraine had a 78% increased odds of suicidal ideation (OR = 1.78; 95% CI: 1.46-2.17), as compared with non-migraineurs. Women with both migraine and depression had a 4.14-fold increased odds of suicidal ideation (OR = 4.14; 95% CI: 3.17-5.42) compared to those with neither condition. CONCLUSION: Migraine is associated with increased odds of suicidal ideation in pregnant women even when controlling for depression. These findings support the consideration of screening women with comorbid migraine and depression for suicidal behavior during pregnancy. / Revisión por pares

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Trait expectancies are related to several aspects of psychological well-being. Specifically, hope, optimism, and hopelessness have been associated with positive and negative indicators of mental health, including suicidality. In addition to empirical similarities, these constructs also have substantial conceptual and measurement overlap. Moreover, while current literature suggests hope and optimism are unique constructs, the distinctions between hopelessness, hope, and optimism remain unclear. The main goals of the present study were: 1) to identify the best structural conceptualization of hope, optimism, and hopelessness; and 2) to apply this conceptualization to examine how different trait expectancies uniquely predict suicidal ideation. Undergraduate students (N= 456) completed a battery of questionnaires at two time points, two months apart. To achieve the first goal, a series of a priori factor models of hope, optimism, and hopelessness was tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). CFA was also performed to confirm the best factor structure of suicidal ideation. Finally, using results from these CFAs, the differential relationships between trait expectancies and suicidal ideation were examined using latent variable path analysis. Results showed that hope, optimism, and hopelessness are best conceptualized as distinct but related constructs. Results also found that both hope and hopelessness predicted increased suicidal ideation over time; whereas, optimism was not predictive of suicidal ideation. Surprisingly, these results suggest that higher hope may be a risk factor for increased suicidal ideation among undergraduates.

The decision by teenagers either to consider or to attempt to commit suicide was addressed in this research. Covariance structure analysis (LISREL) techniques were used to examine the influence of four social-psychological factors (psychic disruption, delinquency, family disruption, and school problems) upon a suicidal orientation.

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Trait expectancies are related to several aspects of psychological well-being. Specifically, hope, optimism, and hopelessness have been associated with positive and negative indicators of mental health, including suicidality. In addition to empirical similarities, these constructs also have substantial conceptual and measurement overlap. Moreover, while current literature suggests hope and optimism are unique constructs, the distinctions between hopelessness, hope, and optimism remain unclear. The main goals of the present study were: 1) to identify the best structural conceptualization of hope, optimism, and hopelessness; and 2) to apply this conceptualization to examine how different trait expectancies uniquely predict suicidal ideation. Undergraduate students (N= 456) completed a battery of questionnaires at two time points, two months apart. To achieve the first goal, a series of a priori factor models of hope, optimism, and hopelessness was tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). CFA was also performed to confirm the best factor structure of suicidal ideation. Finally, using results from these CFAs, the differential relationships between trait expectancies and suicidal ideation were examined using latent variable path analysis. Results showed that hope, optimism, and hopelessness are best conceptualized as distinct but related constructs. Results also found that both hope and hopelessness predicted increased suicidal ideation over time; whereas, optimism was not predictive of suicidal ideation. Surprisingly, these results suggest that higher hope may be a risk factor for increased suicidal ideation among undergraduates.

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / Antepartum suicidal behaviors are a leading cause of maternal injury and death. Previous research has not investigated associations between antepartum suicidal ideation and perinatal complications. Our study objective was to evaluate the relationship of antepartum suicidal ideation with low infant birthweight, small for gestational age, and preterm birth. A cohort study was conducted among 1,108 women receiving prenatal care in Peru. Suicidal ideation was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 during pregnancy. Birth outcomes were extracted from medical records. Linear regressions and multivariable logistic regressions were used to estimate were used to investigate associations between suicidal ideation and pregnancy outcomes. The prevalence of suicidal ideation was 8.7%, preterm delivery was 5.7%, low birthweight was 4.4%, and small for gestational age was 3.4%. In an adjusted model, infant birthweight was 94.2 grams lower for mothers with antepartum suicidal ideation (95% CI: −183.0, −5.5, p = 0.037) compared with those without suicidal ideation. After adjusting for confounders including depression, participants with suicidal ideation had a nearly four-fold increased odds of delivering a small for gestational age infant (OR: 3.73; 95% CI: 1.59–8.74). These findings suggest suicidal ideation during pregnancy is associated with adverse perinatal outcomes, especially low infant birthweight. / Revisión por pares

Schotte and Clum (1982,1987) proposed a model of suicide ideation in which cognitive rigidity (in the presenc eof negative life stress) causes a reduction in problem solving capacity and subsequently leads to hopelessness, which in turn increases the risk for suicide ideation. The aim of the current study was to attempt to improve the model by the addition of a coping variable. The model was tested using a sample 05 85 undergraduate psychology students. the subjects were requested to complete a total of five questionnaires on a once only basis. A new model was developed in which a low level of problem solving confidence and a failure to express emotions combines with the presence of negative life stress to lead to a state of hopelessness, which in turn increases the risk of suicideideation. Results of the study are discussed in terms of the need for a more complex model of suicide ideation which more fully accounts for the effects of different coping strategies on the development of feelings of hopelessness. / Masters Thesis