The Psychological Emptiness Scale: A psychometric evaluation

Background Feelings of emptiness are commonly reported as deeply distressing experiences. Despite established relationships between emptiness and many mental health difficulties, alongside self-harm and suicide, further study into this phenomenon has been restricted by vague definition and clinical measures with limited utility. Recently the first definition validated by individuals with lived experience of emptiness has […]

Intensity and density of stressful life events in first suicide attempters with psychiatric morbidity and comorbidity: A case-control study

Stressful life events (LEs) have been pivotal to suicidal behavior in vulnerable individuals, although its quantum and clustering have remained unclear. This study aimed to estimate and compare the quantum and clustering of LEs across three time periods, three suicide intentionality–lethality categories, and three diagnostic groups in survivors of first suicide attempt (SoFSA). Materials and […]

The relationship between mood disorders, personality disorder and suicidality in adolescence: Does general personality disturbance play a significant role in predicting suicidal behavior?

Introduction Current research points to the importance personality pathology and Major Depression e as relevant psycopathological risk factors for understanding suicidal risk in adolescence. Literature has mainly focused on the role of BPD, however current orientations in personality pathological functioning suggest that BPD may be the representative of a general personality disturbance, a factor of […]

Risk of re-attempts and suicide death after a suicide attempt: A survival analysis

Background Suicide is the primary cause of unnatural death in Spain, and suicide re-attempts a major economic burden worldwide. The risk factors for re-attempt and suicide after an index suicide attempt are different. This study aims to investigate risk factors for re-attempt and suicide after an index suicide attempt. Methods This observational study is part […]

Suicide risk in personality disorders: A systematic review

Purpose of review This systematic review aimed to distil recent literature investigating psychosocial factors which may account for the association between personality disorder (PD) and suicide attempt or suicide death. Recent findings Suicide risk is particularly elevated in people with PD compared to those with no, or many other, mental health diagnoses. Despite this, suicide […]

Perspectives of service users and carers with lived experience of a diagnosis of personality disorder: A qualitative study

Abstract: INTRODUCTION: There is limited understanding of the experience of people with complex mental health (CMH) needs, including those with a diagnosis of personality disorder (PD) and carers of those individuals. Little is known about carers of those in inpatient forensic settings, yet it has been identified that they may have additional needs when compared to […]

Dysphoria spectrum in the evaluation of suicide risk: An overview and exploratory study

Background: The aim of the present paper was to summarize the role of dysphoria in the development of suicidality. We performed an exploratory study to evaluate dysphoria dimensions in inpatients suffering from  borderline personality disorder (BPD), mood disorders, and schizophrenia spectrum disorders who were evaluated due to suicidal ideation or suicide attempt. Subjects and methods: […]

Maladaptive personality traits and the course of suicidal ideation in young adults with bipolar disorder: Cross-sectional and prospective approaches

Background Childhood-onset bipolar disorder (BD) has considerable morbidity and mortality, including suicide. Many risk factors have been identified for suicidality, but the potential role of personality traits as assessed by a computer-assisted self-report measure remains unclear. Aims To address this gap in knowledge, we tested relations between pathological-range personality traits and suicidal ideation among young […]

The influence of personality disorder in predicting suicidal behaviour in common mental disorders: A 30-year study

Two hundred ten patients with anxiety and depressive disorders were followed up over 30 years. Personality status was assessed at baseline using the Personality Assessment Schedule (PAS), an instrument that classifies personality disorder in a similar way to the new ICD-11 classification. Assessments of suicidal behaviour were made at 5, 12 and 30 years and […]

Suicidality and personality pathology in adolescence: A systematic review

This work presents a review of research papers examining the role of emerging personality pathology in suicidal ideation and behaviours in adolescence. Initially, 226 studies were selected in line with PRISMA guidelines, and 33 articles were finally included in this review. The data show percentages of any personality disorder diagnosis ranging from 19.5 to 22.8% […]

Associations between personality traits and suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in patients with personality disorders

Introduction People with personality disorders (PDs) have an elevated suicide risk. However, correlates of suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempts (SA) remain largely unknown in this population. A growing body of literature highlights the contribution of the Big Five personality traits in suicide-outcomes. Therefore, the present study investigates the association between the Big Five personality traits and SI and SA in […]

Personality disorders among suicide attempters

Abstract: Attempted suicide is a common clinical problem in general hospitals. Personality disorders are at increased risk for suicide. There are few case-control studies on attempted suicide in India. The aim of the study was to find out the prevalence of Personality Disorders in survivors following their first suicide attempts. 100 consecutive cases of first […]

Clinical characteristics and care pathways of patients with personality disorder who died by suicide

BACKGROUND: It is estimated that 1 in 10 people have a personality disorder. People with emotionally unstable personality disorder are at high risk of suicide. Despite being frequent users of mental health services, there is often no clear pathway for patients to access effective treatments. AIMS: To describe the characteristics of patients with personality disorder […]

Alexithymia and personality disorders in the adolescent non-suicidal self injury: Preliminary results

The aim of the present study was to describe the characteristics of repetitive self-injurious behaviour and related personality functioning as well as to explore the relationship between NSSI and alexithymia in a sample of NSSI adolescents (mean age= 16.1 yrs) within therapeutic communities. The results showed a representation of Cluster B personality features and personality […]

Differences and similarities in instant countertransference towards patients with suicidal ideation and personality disorders

Background Previous findings showed that suicidal patients elicit mostly negative countertransference such as distress, hopelessness, feelings of inadequacy, and apprehension, and that a concurrent personality disorder is associated with more feelings of entrapment and mistreatment, among other adverse reactions. No studies were however conducted on instant countertransference (iCT), i.e., after a single encounter, for example […]

Mood, dimensional personality, and suicidality in a longitudinal sample of patients with bipolar disorder and controls

Objective To evaluate the effects of mood and anxiety symptoms in relation to personality dimensions and clinical features such as trauma and substance use on suicidal behaviors in a longitudinal sample of individuals with bipolar illness (BP) and healthy controls (HC). Methods Mood, personality, and clinical features were assessed in 151 individuals with BP I […]

Psychopathology of the general population referred by primary care physicians for urgent assessment in psychiatric hospitals.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the type, severity and progression of psychiatric pathologies in a sample of 372 outpatients (age range 18–65 years) referred by their primary general practitioners (GPs) to an Urgent Referral Team (URT) based in a psychiatric hospital in Aberdeen, Scotland. This team offers immediate appointments (1- to […]

Association between reactive attachment disorder/disinhibited social engagement disorder and emerging personality disorder: A feasibility study.

A systematic review of reactive attachment disorder (RAD)/disinhibited social engagement disorder (DSED) in adolescence highlighted that young people with the disorder had indiscriminate friendliness with difficulties in establishing and maintaining stable relationships. Most reported experiences of rejection. We were struck by similarities between the above and features of emergence of personality disorders (EPD). This feasibility […]

Clinical features associated with suicide attempts versus suicide gestures in an inpatient sample.

The objective of this study was to test whether suicide attempters and suicide gesturers can be clinically differentiated. Histrionic and antisocial personality disorders were risk factors specific to suicide gestures. Narcissistic personality disorder was specifically associated with suicide attempts. Borderline personality disorder was associated with both suicide gestures and attempts. A high level of impulsiveness […]

Suicide attempts in major depressed patients with personality disorder.

Suicide attempters who met criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD) comorbid with major depressive disorder (MDD) were compared to both suicide attempters suffering from MDD alone and to attempters with comorbid MDD and other personality disorders (PD).

Psychological autopsy studies as diagnostic tools: are they methodologically flawed?

One of the most established ÒtruthsÓ in suicidology is that almost all (90% or more) of those who kill themselves suffer from one or more mental disorders, and a causal link between the two is implied. Psychological autopsy (PA) studies constitute one main evidence base for this conclusion. However, there has been little reflection on […]

A Trait-interpersonal perspective on suicide risk in criminal offenders.

Despite elevated rates of suicide among offenders, research has yet to adequately address theoretically driven risk models in this population. The present study addresses such a gap by investigating a synthesized framework using 2 well-developed theoretical models, the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality and the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide (IPTS). Archival data from mitigation evaluations […]

Screening cluster A and cluster B personality disorders in Chinese high school students.

Background: Personality disorders (PDs) during adolescence may, in addition to increasing risk for violent behaviors and suicide, also increase risk for elevated PD traits in adulthood. The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of Cluster A and Cluster B PD traits and their relationships to demographic variables in Chinese high school students. […]