Psychological pain and sociodemographic factors classified suicide attempt and non-suicidal self-injury in adolescents

This study aimed to utilize machine learning to explore the psychological similarities and differences between suicide attempt (SA) and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), with a particular focus on the role of psychological pain. A total of 2385 middle school students were recruited using cluster sampling. The random forest algorithm was used with 25 predictors to develop […]

The relationship between psychological pain and suicidality in patients with major depressive disorder: A meta-analysis

Objective To systematically review the association between psychological pain and suicidality in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Method The databases of PubMed, Web of Science and PsycINFO were used to search and articles were screened for inclusion and exclusion criteria until February 2022. Two researchers independently screened the papers, extracted data, and evaluated the risk of bias of […]

The relationship between mental pain, suicide risk, and childhood traumatic experiences: Results from a multicenter study

Objective: Mental pain and exposure to maltreatment are significant risk factors for suicidal behavior. This study aimed to investigate whether mental pain could be associated with a recent suicide attempt and whether it could mediate the relationship between childhood traumatic experiences and suicide risk in psychiatric patients. Methods: A multicenter observational study was organized as a joint […]

High depression symptomatology and mental pain characterize suicidal psychiatric patients

Background: Symptoms of depression are transdiagnostic heterogenous features frequently assessed in psychiatric disorders, that impact the response to first-line treatment and are associated with higher suicide risk. This study assessed whether severe mental pain could characterize a specific phenotype of severely depressed high-risk psychiatric patients. We also aimed to analyze differences in treatments administered. Methods: 2,297 adult […]

On mental pain and suicide risk in modern psychiatry

Facing suicide risk is probably the most difficult task for clinicians when dealing with patients in crisis. It requires professional, intellectual, and emotional efforts. Suicide risk assessment can sometimes be distressing for clinicians, and such a state may favour the avoidance of an in-depth exploration of suicidal thoughts and behaviour. Patients often feel subjected to […]

An investigation of the relationships between suicidal ideation, psychache, and meaning in life using network analysis

Background Previous studies have investigated the relationships between psychache or meaning in life and suicidal ideation based on sum score of corresponding scale. However, this practice has hampered the fine-grained understanding of their relationships. This network analysis study aimed to conduct a dimension-level analysis of these constructs and the relationships among them in a joint […]

An investigation of the relationships between suicidal ideation, psychache, and meaning in life using network analysis

Background Previous studies have investigated the relationships between psychache or meaning in life and suicidal ideation based on sum score of corresponding scale. However, this practice has hampered the fine-grained understanding of their relationships. This network analysis study aimed to conduct a dimension-level analysis of these constructs and the relationships among them in a joint […]

Mental pain and suicide: A systematic review of the literature

Background Mental pain, defined as a subjective experience characterized by perception of strong negative feelings and changes in the self and its function, is no less real than other types of grief. Mental pain has been considered to be a distinct entity from depression. We have performed a systematic review analyzing the relationship between mental […]

A study of early life experiences, temperament, character, and psychological pain in suicide attempters and normal individuals

Background: Studies conducted in different countries have reported a relationship between suicidal tendencies and childhood trauma experiences, personality traits, and psychological pain. It would be valuable to re- examine such a relationship in Iranian culture. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate early life experiences, temperament, character, and psychological pain in suicidal attempters and normal individuals. […]

Psychache predicts suicide attempter status change in students starting university

Objectives Unlike many investigations that focus on suicide ideation rather than suicidal behavior, the present research evaluates the merit and relative efficacy of psychache (i.e., unbearable mental pain) for predicting self-reported suicide attempts among university students who are starting university. Method A sample of 516 elevated-risk undergraduates was assessed during the first three weeks of […]

The interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide and the role of psychological pain during the COVID-19 pandemic: A network analysis

Introduction Among the most investigated theories explaining suicidal behavior there are the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide (IPTS) by Thomas E. Joiner and the one focused on the construct of psychological pain (or psychache, or mental pain). Objective Since it remains unclear whether these two different theories correlate with each other in the explanation of suicidal risk, we […]

Assessment of psychological pain in clinical and non-clinical samples: A preliminary investigation using the psychic pain scale

Psychological pain is an important contributing factor to suicide risk. The present study examined the psychometric properties of the Psychic Pain Scale (PPS), a new measure assessing unbearable negative affect as described in Maltsberger’s theory of suicidality. The PPS was administered to n = 131 adult psychiatric patients as well as n = 953 undergraduate students. An initial factor analysis which […]

The mediating roles of psychological pain and dream anxiety in the relationship between sleep disturbance and suicide

Suicide is a significant public health problem worldwide, and sleep disturbances have negative effects on mental health and suicidality. Several psychological concepts may mediate the relationship between sleep disturbances and suicide. We aimed to investigate the mediating roles of psychological pain and dream anxiety in this relationship. This cross-sectional study included 150 depressive patients with […]

Exposure to suicide in the family and suicidal ideation in Portugal during the Covid-19 pandemic: The mediating role of unbearable psychache

Objectives: This study tested the mediation effects of two facets of psychache – bearable and unbearable – in the relationship between exposure to suicide in the family and suicidal ideation in Portugal during the Covid-19 pandemic. Methods: Two hundred and forty-four adults aged between 19 and 64 participated. Two groups were defined: one exposed to suicide in […]

Prefrontal activity during experimental ostracism and daily psychache in suicide attempters

Background Suicidal behaviors can result from a complex interaction between social stressors and individual vulnerability. Evidence suggests a specific neural processing of social cues in suicide attempters without knowledge of how it relates to real-world experiences. Objective To investigate the association between brain activity during experimental social exclusion (measured by functional MRI) and psychological pain in […]

The serious suicide attempts approach for understanding suicide: Review of the psychological evidence

The study of survivors of a serious suicide attempt (SSA)––an attempt that would have been fatal had it not been for the provision of rapid and effective emergency treatment––can help researchers understand the suicidal mind. Serious suicide attempters are epidemiologically very similar to those who died by suicide, and thus can serve as valid proxies for studying […]

Understanding the transition from suicidal desire to planning and preparation: Correlates of suicide risk within a psychiatric inpatient sample of ideators and attempters

Background: There is a clear need to better understand the trajectory from suicidal ideation to enactment of lethal suicidal behavior. Identification of factors that promote desire and the transition to intent and behavior is critical for the advancement of theory, risk formulation, and prevention. Method: In this cross sectional study, correlates of suicide risk were examined at […]

Psychache, unmet interpersonal needs, childhood trauma and suicide ideation in young adults

This 5-month, 2-wave study evaluated the mediating effects of psychache and unmet interpersonal needs on the relationship between childhood trauma and suicide ideation in 208 young adults, controlling for depression. Path analysis demonstrated that changes in depression, perceived burdensomeness, and thwarted belongingness mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and changes in positive suicide ideation, and […]

A brief measure of unbearable psychache

Objective Psychache has been proposed to cause suicide when it becomes unbearable. However, existing measures of psychache do not directly target unbearable psychache. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to provide initial validation for a brief measure of unbearable psychache. Method Three items were selected to create the Unbearable Psychache Scale (UP3). Psychometric […]

Tolerance for psychological pain and capability for suicide: Contributions to suicidal ideation and behavior

Among people with suicide ideation most do not attempt suicide or die by suicide. In this online study of adult US Facebook users (n=219), we examined capability for suicide, operationalized as fearlessness about death, and tolerance for psychological pain as potential variables that may explain why some people move from suicide ideation to suicidal behavior. […]

Reexamining the mental pain-suicidality link in adolescence: The role of tolerance for mental pain

Objective In this study, we reexamine the mental pain–suicidality link in adolescence, by focusing on mental pain tolerance as a critical factor in explaining youth suicidal behavior. Method In a series of three studies, participants completed measures of mental pain (tolerance and intensity), emotional regulation, depression, and suicidality. Study 1 included a nonclinical sample of […]

Hearing the suicidal patient’s emotional pain: A typological model to improve communication

Background: Escaping from emotional pain is a recognized driver in suicidal patients’ desire to die. Formal scales of emotional pain are rarely used during routine contact between patients and their care team. No study has explored facilitators and inhibitors of emotional pain communication between staff and suicidal patients during regular care. Aims: To identify factors impeding or […]

When the pain becomes unbearable: Case-control study of mental pain characteristics among medically serious suicide attempters

The unbearable mental pain experience is recognized as a key antecedent of suicidal behavior. We aimed to examine the precise nature of the mental pain among medically serious suicide attempters (MSSAs), a population closely resembling those who died by suicide. We evaluated various factors of mental pain from the Orbach and Mikulincer Mental Pain Scale, […]