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An Examination of Optimism/Pessimism and Suicide Risk in Primary Care Patients: Does Belief in a Changeable Future Make a Difference?

An integrative model involving optimism/pessimism and future orientation as predictors of suicide risk (viz., depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior) was tested in a sample of adult, primary care patients. Beyond the additive influence of the two predictors of suicide risk, optimism/pessimism and future orientation were also hypothesized to interact together to exacerbate suicide risk. Results indicated that optimism/pessimism was a robust predictor of suicide risk in adults. Future orientation was found to add significant incremental validity to the prediction of depressive symptoms, but not of suicidal behavior. Noteworthy, the optimism/pessimism × future orientation interaction was found to significantly augment the prediction of both depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior. Implications for therapeutic enhancement of future-oriented constructs in the treatment of suicidal individuals are discussed.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:etsu-works-1867
Date01 August 2013
CreatorsChang, Edward C., Yu, Elizabeth A., Lee, Jenny Y., Hirsch, Jameson K., Kupfermann, Yvonne, Kahle, Emma R.
PublisherDigital Commons @ East Tennessee State University
Source SetsEast Tennessee State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
SourceETSU Faculty Works

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