Age Discrimination and Suicidal Ideation Among Korean Older Adults

ObjectiveWe examined the role of age discrimination in suicidal ideation among community-dwelling older adults in South Korea.MethodsWe analyzed adults aged 65 or older residing in Korea drawn from the 2014 Survey of Living Conditions and Welfare Needs of Korean Older Persons (total unweighted n = 10,279; total weighted N = 6,280,588). Data were analyzed using chi-square, t tests, and logistic regression analyses.ResultsResults from logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for covariates, Korean elders who experienced age discrimination had 2.26 times higher odds of having suicidal ideation than those who did not.ConclusionsThe experience of age discrimination increased the risk of suicidal ideation among Korean elders. Identifying ways to reduce age discrimination may be an effective means of reducing suicidal ideation, which would, in turn, potentially decrease suicide rates among older adults. There may be cross-cultural clinical implications and variations due to belief systems surrounding respect for older adults.     

Suicidal Ideation Among American Indian Youths

ABSTRACT

Epidemiological data indicate that suicide rates have been decreasing among 15–19-year-olds in the United States; however, rates have been increasing among some minority groups. Research has identified numerous risk factors for adolescent suicide and suicide-related behaviors, but models testing these risk factors within different racial or ethnic groups are scarce. The current study tested a model of adolescent suicide ideation in a sample of 258 high school students, comparing the model fit across two racial groups. The model significantly fit the data for both groups indicating that the relationship between suicide exposure and current suicidal ideation is mediated by reasons for living and level of depressive symptoms. Ways in which the results improve our understanding of risk factors in diverse adolescents are discussed.     

Family Environment and Suicidal Ideation Among Bipolar Youth

The objective of this study was to examine the association between family environment and suicidal ideation among youth with bipolar disorder. Subjects included 446 bipolar (BP) youth (age 7–17) enrolled in the Course and Outcome of Bipolar Youth study. Current suicidal ideation, family functioning and family stress were assessed at intake. BP youth with current suicidal ideation reported more conflict with their mother and less family adaptability. Ideators endorsed more stressful family events over the prior year and higher rates of specific familial stressors. Clinicians treating bipolar youth should consider family stress when conducting suicide risk assessment. Treatment goals may include enhancing family communication and addressing issues of loss.     

Risk Factors for Suicidal Ideation among Patients with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

Objective

Chronic pain frequently coexists with psychiatric symptoms in patients diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Previous studies have shown a relationship between CRPS and the risk of suicide. The purpose of this study was to assess risk factors for suicidal ideation in patients with CRPS.

Methods

Based on criteria established by the International Association for the Study of Pain, 39 patients diagnosed with CRPS Type 1 or Type 2 were enrolled in this study. Suicidal ideation was assessed using item 3 of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), and symptoms of pain were evaluated using the short form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ). Psychiatric symptoms were assessed in using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders (SCID-I, SCID-II), the HAMD, the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA), the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).

Results

Twenty-nine patients (74.4%) were at high risk and 10 (25.6%) were at low risk for suicidal ideation. Risk factors significantly associated with suicidal ideation included depression (p=0.002), severity of pain (p=0.024), and low scores on the GAF (p=0.027). No significant correlations were found between suicidal ideation and anxiety or quality of sleep.

Conclusion

Significant risk factors for suicidal ideation in patients with CRPS include severity of pain, depressive symptoms, and decreased functioning. These results suggest that psychiatric evaluation and intervention should be included in the treatment of CRPS.     

Prevalence and Predisposing Factors of Suicidal Ideation Among the University Students in Bangladesh: A Single-Site Survey

International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction - Recently, suicide among Bangladeshi university students has become a serious problem. However, to date, there have been no studies assessing...     

Suicidal Ideation among Florida National Guard Members: Combat Deployment and Non-Deployment Risk and Protective Factors

In this article, we examine the association between resilience and suicidality across the lifespan. Participants (n = 7485) from the Personality and Total Health (PATH) Through Life Project, a population sample from Canberra and Queanbeyan, Australia, were stratified into three age cohorts (20–24, 40–44, 60–64 years of age). Binary Logistic regression explored the association between resilience and suicidality. Across age cohorts, low resilience was associated with an increased risk for suicidality. However, this effect was subsequently made redundant in models that fully adjusted for other risk factors for suicidality among young and old adults. Resilience is associated with suicidality across the lifespan, but only those in midlife continued to report increased likelihood of suicidality in fully-adjusted models.     

Ketamine for Treatment of Suicidal Ideation and Reduction of Risk for Suicidal Behavior

Ketamine, an NMDA receptor antagonist with efficacy as a rapid anti-depressant, has early evidence for action to reduce suicidal ideation. This review will explore several important questions that arise from these studies. First, how do we measure reductions in suicidal ideation that occur over minutes to hours? Second, are the reductions in suicidal ideation after ketamine treatment solely a result of its rapid anti-depressant effect? Third, is ketamine only effective in reducing suicidal ideation in patients with mood disorders? Fourth, could ketamine’s action lead us to a greater understanding of the neurobiology of suicidal processes? Last, do the reductions in depression and suicidal ideation after ketamine treatment translate into decreased risk for suicidal behavior? Our review concludes that ketamine treatment can be seen as a double-edged sword, clinically to help provide treatment for acutely suicidal patients and experimentally to explore the neurobiological nature of suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior.     

Basic Need Satisfaction and Suicidal Ideation: A Self-Determination Perspective on Interpersonal Suicide Risk and Suicidal Thinking

This study investigated the relationship between the basic psychological needs, as outlined by self-determination theory, and the interpersonal predictors of suicidal desire, as outlined by the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior. It was hypothesized that basic need satisfaction (collective feeling of autonomy, relatedness, and competence) would be related to suicidal ideation through thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. Mediation analyses demonstrated that thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness both individually mediated the relationship between basic need satisfaction and suicidal ideation. Relatedness also predicted variance of the interaction of thwarted belongingness by perceived burdensomeness while controlling for depression. The clinical utility of assessing need satisfaction as an indication of suicide risk is discussed. Future research to investigate the temporal relationship of the study variables is recommended.     

Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated with Suicide Ideation and Attempts in Korean College Students

Objective

Suicide is a leading cause of death in college age students. Identification of the associated risk factors has important implications for how to prevent and respond to this population; however, few studies have been performed on this topic in this age group. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors associated with suicide ideation and attempts in college students.

Methods

Three hundred sixty-eight college students participated in this cross-sectional observational study. The recent (over two weeks) suicide ideation and lifetime suicide attempts were defined according to Moscicki''s suicide behavior index. Sociodemographic variables were assessed and psychopathology measured using the Beck Depression Inventory, the Bipolar Spectrum Diagnostic Scale and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. A hierarchical multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify the significant risk factors related to suicide ideation and attempts.

Results

The two-week prevalence of suicidal ideation was 9.8%, and the lifetime prevalence of suicide attempts was 3.3%. The univariate analysis showed that students who had more severe depression (p<0.001), a higher probability for bipolar disorder (p<0.001) and decrement of academic achievement (p<0.005) were more likely to have suicide ideation. Those with factors such as severe depression (p<0.05), a higher probability of bipolar disorder (p<0.001), a low socioeconomic status (p<0.001), who lived alone (p<0.01), and were female (p<0.05) had a higher risk for suicide attempts. The most important predictors of suicide ideation, by the logistic regression analysis, were depression, probability for bipolar disorder and academic achievement, and the risks identified for suicide attempts were socioeconomic status and probability of bipolar disorder.

Conclusion

Suicide ideation and attempts were common in college students. The results of this study suggest that early identification and management of mood disorders and other sociodemographic risk factors may have implications for intervention and prevention.     

Suicidal Ideation in US Nursing Homes: Association With Individual and Facility Factors

ObjectiveTo assess prevalence of suicidal ideation (SI) among new postacute and long-stay nursing home (NH) admissions and examine the associations with individual and NH-level factors.Setting/ParticipantsA total of 1,864,102 postacute and 304,106 long-stay admissions to just over 15,000 NHs between 7/1/2014 and 6/30/2015.MeasurementUsing 100% of the national Minimum Data Set 3.0, we identified SI and key covariates. SI was based on responses to one item on the PHQ-9 scale. For postacute residents, SI was measured at admission and discharge. For long-stay residents, SI was assessed at admission and assessments closest to 90, 180, and 365 days thereafter. Patient sociodemographics, functional and cognitive status, comorbid conditions, and other covariates were included as independent variables, as were several NH-level factors. Logistic regression models were fit to estimate SI risk at admission and at subsequent time intervals.ResultsObserved 2-week prevalence rates of SI were highest at admission (1.24% for postacute and 1.84% for long stays) and declined thereafter at each subsequent time interval. The odds of SI were significantly increased for residents with severe depression at admission and all subsequent intervals. Residents in for-profits had significantly lower rates of SI, compared with those in not-for-profits.ConclusionsOur findings demonstrate that SI risk in NHs is highest at admission and subsequently declines. We found several potentially modifiable individual-level risk factors for SI. The identification of SI may be seriously underreported in for-profit-facilities. Future research may be needed to explore how the PHQ-9 item on SI is understood by residents and recorded by staff.     

Suicidal Ideation Among Wives of Former Prisoners of War: A Longitudinal Dyadic Study

Objectives: The associations between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicidal ideation (SI) among ex-prisoners of war (ex-POWs) has recently been exemplified. Several studies have revealed the toll of war captivity in the secondary traumatization (ST) of ex-POWs’ wives. This study aimed to assess SI among ex-POWs’ wives and the longitudinal associations between their husbands’ PTSD and their own ST. Method: A sample of 233 Israeli couples (142 ex-POW couples and a comparison group of 91 veteran couples) completed self-report measures of PTSD symptoms, SI, and depression at two time points: T1 (2003) and T2 (2008), 30 and 37 years after the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Results: Among control wives, although not among ex-POWs’ wives, the more ST symptoms they reported, the higher their level of SI. Furthermore, for both research groups, husbands’ PTSD and wives’ ST were positively associated with their own levels of SI, respectively. Autoregressive cross-legged (ARCL) analysis demonstrated that SI at T1 predicted ST at T2 among control wives but not among ex-POWs’ wives. Surprisingly, an actor-partner interdependence modeling (APIM) analysis revealed, only among ex-POWs’ couples, that the more the husbands suffered from PTSD and SI, the more moderate the increase of the wives’ SI was between T1 and T2, thus, leading to better outcomes in terms of the wives’ SI. Conclusions: Ex-POWs’ posttraumatic distress is longitudinally related to their spouses’ ST and SI. Clinical implications of these findings of the relations between captivity trauma and suicidality for veteran couples are discussed.     

Risk and Protective Factors of Suicidal Ideation and Attempt among Adolescents with Different Types of School Bullying Involvement

Suicide has been found to be prevalent among adolescents involved in bullying; however, there has been a lack of research examining whether the risk and protective factors of suicidal ideation and attempt are different among adolescents with different types of bullying involvement. The aims of this study were to examine the risk and protective factors of suicidal ideation and attempt among adolescents with different experiences of bullying involvement, victimization, and perpetration.

A total of 4,533 adolescents participated in this study. Different groups of bullying involvement, victimization, and perpetration were determined through use of the Chinese version of the School Bullying Experience Questionnaire. The associations of suicidal ideation and attempt with possible risk factors (domestic violence, overweight, depression, anxiety, and alcohol abuse) and protective factors (family support and self-esteem) were examined using logistic regression analysis.

Pure victims, pure perpetrators, and victim-perpetrators were more likely to report suicidal ideation and attempt than the neutral group. The risk and protective factors of suicidal ideation and attempt were different across adolescents with different experiences of bullying involvement, victimization, and perpetrators.

The risk of suicide should be monitored among adolescents who are involved in any type of bullying. The risk and protective factors of suicide identified in this study should be taken into consideration in prevention and intervention programs for suicide in adolescents involved in bullying.     

Metabolic Syndrome and Suicidal Ideation in Korean Based on the 2010 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between metabolic syndrome and suicidal ideation in Korean. This study was based on the 2010 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A questionnaire was used to measure suicidal ideation and physical examination was performed to measure waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Complex samples logistic regression was performed to estimate the relationship between metabolic syndrome and suicidal ideation among adults and adolescents. Subjects with metabolic syndrome were more likely to have suicidal ideation in adult. There would be essential needs to evaluate suicidal ideation in adult with metabolic syndrome and to follow up suicidal ideation in adolescents with metabolic syndrome.