Biological correlates of deliberate self-harm behaviour: a study of electroencephalographic,biochemical and psychological variables in parasuicide

Clinical, electroencephalographic and biochemical variables were measured in 40 patients who attempted suicide and 27 age-matched controls. Patients had significantly higher scores for depression, hopelessness, neuroticism and psychoticism and lower scores for extraversion than controls. They also had significantly lower contingent negative variation (CNV), higher postimperative negative variation and lower whole blood serotonin values than controls. Within the patient group, vulnerability to parasuicide, as determined by previous or repeated acts of deliberate self-harm, was associated with higher scores for hopelessness and suicide intent, lower scores for extraversion and decreased CNV. Factor analysis revealed significant correlations between psychological variables and auditory evoked potential amplitudes for the vulnerable group. A profile of variables associated with increased risk of self-harm in patients presenting with attempted suicide is proposed from our data.     

Parental influence,pessimism and adolescent suicidality

Abstract

As part of a series of studies into the early detection of suicidal behaviour in adolescence, this study investigated relationships between adolescents' self-reports of perceived parental style, pessimism, and the spectrum of suicidal behaviour in a sample of Australian high school students (Mean age = 15.8). Three hundred and seven students completed a questionnaire that included demographic details. the Influential Relationships Questionnaire (IRQ), the Beck Hopelessness Scale, and the Adolescent Suicide Questionnaire. There was a high level of suicidal behaviour reported with suicidal adolescents perceiving their pants to be significantly more critical, less caring and more overprotective. Multiple regression analyses examining a proposed pathway from perceived parental style to suicidality through the mediation of hopelessness found that both parental style and hopelessness made unique contributions to a composite suicidality score. The quality of parenting is relevant to the assessment of adolescent suicidality and the KRQ may be useful for the detection of perceived parenting difficulties in suicide prevention programmes.     

Religion-Based Emotional Social Support Mediates the Relationship between Intrinsic Religiosity and Mental Health

Although previous research suggests that increased religiosity is associated with better mental health and many authors have conjectured that religion-based social support may help explain this connection, scant research has directly examined whether religion-based support mediates religiosity and mental health. The present study examined whether various dimensions of religion-based support (social interaction, instrumental, and emotional) mediated the relationship between religiosity and mental health in college students in the Midwest United States. As expected, of the support dimensions, perceived emotional support was the strongest predictor of decreased hopelessness, depression, and suicide behaviors; and the relationships among intrinsic religiosity and the mental health variables were fully mediated by emotional support. These findings provide strong support to the notion that the relationship between religiosity and mental health can be reduced to mediators such as social support. Research and theoretical implications are discussed.     

The role of social support on resilience,posttraumatic growth,hopelessness, and depression among children of HIV-infected parents in mainland China

Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) has a profound impact not only on the infected individuals, but also on their families. Children of the HIV-infected parents are particularly affected. The present study examined the relationship between social support, resilience, posttraumatic growth (PTG), hopelessness, and depression among 195 children of HIV-infected parents in mainland China. Results showed that 35.4% of the sample scored above the cutoff of the Children's Depression Inventory. Results from structural equation modeling reported that social support had a significant positive relationship with resilience and PTG. Higher levels of resilience and PTG were associated with lower level of hopelessness which in turn, was associated with lower level of depression. The overall model achieved satisfactory fit. Interventions are needed to improve social support of the children affected by HIV so as to improve their mental health.     

Anxiety,helplessness/hopelessness and ‘desire for hastened death’ in Korean cancer patients

SHIM E.‐J. & HAHM B.‐J. (2011) European Journal of Cancer Care 20 , 395–402
Anxiety, helplessness/hopelessness and ‘desire for hastened death’ in Korean cancer patients Despite a relatively high rate of suicide associated with cancer, this issue has not been explored in Korean patients. This study investigates the prevalence and factors related to ‘the desire for hastened death’ (DHD) in Korean cancer patients. A cross‐sectional survey using standardised measures, including the Schedule of Attitudes toward Hastened Death and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, was performed with 131 patients with different types of cancer. 13.7% of the participants experienced moderate DHD (Schedule of Attitudes toward Hastened Death scores 5–9) and 1.7% experienced high DHD (≥10). Socio‐demographic and disease‐associated factors of the DHD included age, overall health and shortness of breath. The majority of psychosocial variables such as sadness, distress, ‘helplessness/hopelessness’ and ‘anxious preoccupation’ had a moderate association with DHD. Patients with a clinically significant level of anxiety or depression reported higher levels of DHD. Other significant correlates included ‘meaning/peace’, a sense of burdening family, dignity impairment and suicidal thoughts after diagnosis. Helplessness/hopelessness and anxiety were the strongest predictors of DHD in multivariate analysis. In view of significant role of helplessness/hopelessness and anxiety in the DHD of cancer patients, careful monitoring and management of these factors should be an integral part of cancer care to reduce the occurrence of DHD.     

Hopelessness and Violence Among Inner-City Youths

Objectives: Ethnographic literature on inner-city life argues that adolescents react to their uncertain (and objectively bleak) future by abandoning hope; this, in turn, leads them to engage in risk behaviors, including violence, with considerable frequency. This study empirically measures the pervasiveness of hopelessness and uncertainty about the future among inner-city adolescents and documents the link between hopelessness, uncertainty, and risk behavior. Methods: We surveyed a sample of 583 adolescents (aged 9–19) living in public housing in Huntsville, AL; this constitutes 80% of the eligible population. Each participant in the survey received $10. Their responses yielded empirical distributions for hopelessness, uncertainty about the future, and four violent behaviors. Using OLS regression, we examined the effect of hopelessness on these violent behaviors. Results: Hopelessness about the future was relatively rare, affecting only 20–30% of the respondents. However, it was a strong predictor of fighting and carrying a knife for females, and of carrying a knife, carrying a gun, and pulling a knife or gun on someone else for males. Uncertainty about the future was more prevalent, but unrelated to the violent behaviors. Conclusions: These results suggest that the conclusions of the ethnographic literature are only partially valid: While hopelessness is, in fact, strongly related to risk behavior, it is not nearly so prevalent as is generally assumed.     

Social Problem Solving, Mood, and Suicidality Among Inpatient Adolescents

Relationships between social problem solving, mood, and suicidality were examined in a sample of 105 adolescent psychiatric inpatients (ages 12–18). Youth were administered the Social Problem-Solving Inventory—Revised (T. D'Zurilla & A. Maydeu-Olivares, 1995) as well as standardized self-report and interview measures of dysphoria, hopelessness, anxiety, and suicidality. Results indicated that a negative problem orientation as well as an avoidant or impulsive problem-solving style were associated with less favorable scores on all of the latter measures, including greater reported suicidality. By contrast, associations were not observed between utilization of rational problem-solving skills and measures of either mood or suicidality. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that the relationships found between the former measures of social problem solving and suicidality were mediated by more direct associations of less-effective social problem solving with both dysphoria/state-depression and hopelessness.