Andrea Pinto Chioqueta

The Relationship Between Psychological Buffers, Hopelessness, and Suicidal Ideation Identification of Protective Factors

In this study we examined the role of psychological buffers (life satisfaction, self-esteem, perception of family cohesion, and perception of social support) in the development of hopelessness and suicidal ideation. The participants were 314 university students, 71 males and 243 females, who were asked to complete a battery of instruments measuring the psychological buffers mentioned above. The results of a set of hierarchical multiple regression analyses suggested that life satisfaction and self-esteem are independent predictors of lower levels of hopelessness, while perception of social support seems to be the major predictor of lower levels of suicidal ideation independent of depression and hopelessness severity. Thus, hopelessness seems to be minimized by the level of life satisfaction and level of self-esteem exhibited by the individuals, while the key factor to the mitigation of suicidal ideas seems to be perception of social support.

Suicide risk in outpatients with specific mood and anxiety disorders.

The present study examined the relationships between specific anxiety, mood disorders, levels of hopelessness, and suicide ideation. The sample consisted of 606 outpatients recruited from several psychiatric settings. It was found that dysthymia was significantly associated with hopelessness. Patients presenting major depressive episode with higher anxiety symptoms had significantly increased scores on the hopelessness scale. Major depressive episode and bipolar disorder, but not dysthymia, were significantly associated with higher levels of suicide ideation. Increased levels of anxiety symptoms in patients with dysthymia were associated with increased levels of suicide ideation, while increased depressive symptoms in patients with specific phobia and generalized anxiety disorder were associated with significantly lower levels of suicide ideation. The findings suggest that depressive disorders, but not anxiety disorders, constitute risk for suicide. Moreover, the differentiation between a depressive and an anxiety disorder as the principal diagnosis, as well as the assessment of anxiety-level symptoms in patients with major depressive episode and dysthymia, seems of special relevance when assessing suicide risk.

Psychometric properties of the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation: a Norwegian study with university students.

This study presents the psychometric properties of the Norwegian language version of the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSI). The participants were 314 university students (71 males and 243 females) enrolled in one of the introductory courses in psychology or sociology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway. The results revealed satisfactory internal consistency and good temporal stability. Moderately high correlations with other measures of suicide ideation suggested satisfactory concurrent validity. Similarly, the construct validity was evidenced by moderate correlations among the BSI, the Hopkins Symptom Check List (HSCL-25) depressive scale, and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS). In general, the findings suggest that the BSI is a reliable and valid instrument to assess severity of suicide ideation in college students.

Psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (Form A)

The present study reports the reliability and validity of the Norwegian version of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale in non‐clinical and clinical populations. The participants were 344 young male military recruits, 41 healthy controls and 142 psychiatric outpatients. All the participants completed the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire. The analysis of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale revealed a Cronbachs alpha of 0.85, indicating satisfactory reliability. Evidence for the construct validity was obtained by the correlation between the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory (r = 0.47) and the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (r = 0.47). Finally, the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale significantly discriminated between clinically depressed, non‐depressed psychiatric patients and healthy controls. The results showed that the Norwegian version of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale possess satisfactory psychometric properties suggesting that this instrument is appropriate for use as a cognitive measure in a Norwegian cultural context.

Cognitive Factors, Engagement in Sport, and Suicide Risk∗

The aims of this study were to identify cognitive vulnerabilities and to examine the protective role of active engagement in sport in the development of (1) suicide ideation and (2) hopelessness. In Study 1,102 male military recruits were the participants. Scores on the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ-30), but not on the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS-A), predicted presence of suicide ideation three months later. The results of Study 2 with 84 university students showed that scores on the ATQ-30, but not on the DAS-A were significantly associated with hopelessness. Moreover, students actively engaged in sports exhibited less hopelessness. The findings suggest that active engagement in sports is strongly associated with negative automatic thoughts, suicidal thoughts, and hopelessness.

Assessing suicide risk in cluster C personality disorders

The aim of the study was to assess suicide risk in psychiatric outpatients with specific cluster C personality disorders (avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive). A sample of 142 psychiatric outpatients was used for the study. The sample was composed of 87 outpatients meeting diagnostic criteria for a personality disorder and 53 psychiatric outpatients meeting criteria for an axis I disorder only. The results showed that dependent, but not avoidant or obsessive-compulsive, personality disorders, as well as the clusters A and B personality disorders, were significantly associated with suicide attempts. This association remained significant after controlling for both a lifetime depressive disorder and severity of depression for the cluster A and the cluster B personality disorders, but not for dependent personality disorder. The results underline the importance of assessing suicide risk in patients with cluster A and cluster B personality disorders, while the assessment of suicide risk in patients with cluster C personality disorders seems to be irrelevant as long as assessment of a comorbid depressive disorder is appropriately conducted.

Dimensions of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS-A) and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ-30) as Cognitive Vulnerability Factors in the Development of Suicide Ideation

The investigation of factors that may render an individual vulnerable to the development of suicide ideation may provide some light on the etiology of suicidal behavior and consequently contribute to the prevention of suicide. Based on this idea, an examination of the relationship between the underlying dimensions of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS-A), the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ-30) and suicide ideation was conducted. The six DAS-A components and the two ATQ-30 components reported by Chioqueta and Stiles (2006a, 2006c) were among the variables employed in the present study. In a sample composed of 102 male military recruits, initially assessed at the Army School (Pretest) and re-tested 3 months later (Posttest), a series of multiple regression analyses were conducted. The results demonstrated that the two subscales of the ATQ-30 (Negative Self-Concept/Personal Maladjustment and Desire for Change/Negative Expectations), but none of the DAS-A subscales, predicted suicide ideation 3 months later. Thus, automatic thoughts reflecting ideas of negative self-concept, perceptions of personal maladjustment, thoughts of desire for change, and negative expectations seem to be more associated with suicide ideation than depressogenic beliefs.

Factor structure of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (Form A) and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire: an exploratory study.

The factor structure of the Norwegian version of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire was investigated with a sample of 344 male military recruits. Principal factor analyses with promax rotation indicated four factors for the former, labeled Performance Evaluation, Need for Approval, Autonomous Attitude, and Perfectionism which accounted for 15.5%, 3.6%, 2.6%, and 2.5% of the total variance, respectively. Two factors comprised the latter. Factor 1 was labeled Negative Self-concept and Personal Maladjustment and accounted for 40% of the total variance, and Factor 2 was labeled Desire for Change and Negative Expectations and accounted for 6.3% of the total variance. The findings may be useful in identifying the specific dysfunctional beliefs and negative automatic thoughts exhibited by military recruits. Such information can also contribute to the development of more effective treatment interventions.

Norwegian version of the automatic thoughts questionnaire: a reliability and validity study

This study investigated the reliability and validity of the Norwegian version of the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire. Three samples were used: (a) 344 male military recruits; (b) 142 psychiatric outpatients; and (c) 41 healthy controls. The Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire was found to have high internal consistency and satisfactory temporal stability. It correlated positively with the Beck Depression Inventory and was found to discriminate significantly between clinically depressed and non‐depressed psychiatric patients and healthy controls. In general the results are satisfactory, suggesting that the Norwegian version of the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire has adequate reliability and validity properties. The Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire was shown to be a useful measure of frequency of automatic negative thoughts in both clinical and non‐clinical populations.

Suicide Risk in Patients with Somatization Disorder

The aim of the study was to assess suicide risk in psychiatric outpatients with and without somatization disorder. A total sample of 120 psychiatric outpatients was used in the study, 29 of whom met diagnostic criteria for somatization disorder. The results indicated that somatization disorder was significantly associated with suicide attempts even when the effects of both a comorbid major depressive disorder and a comorbid personality disorder were statistically controlled for. The results suggest that, although a patient meets the criteria for a principal diagnosis of major depressive disorder and/or a personality disorder, it is still of significant importance to decide whether or not the patient also meets the criteria for a somatization disorder in order to more optimally assess suicide risk. The findings highlight the fact that the potential for suicide in patients with somatization disorder should not be overlooked when a diagnosable depressive disorder or personality disorder is not present.