Resource Tag: PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING

Relations between hopelessness, depression, social desirability & parasuicide were examined. Multiple operationalizations of each construct were used & 2 college populations were compared (1 seeking treatment, 1 not seeking treatment). Hopelessness related to parasuicide in the seeking treatment group but not in the other group. Implications for suicide screening & prevention in treatment versus nontreatment […]

A questionnaire to measure inward irritability & outward irritability was given to college students. Inward irritability scores correlated .27 with outward irritability scores. Those students who had attempted suicide had high inward irritability scores; those who had threatened suicide had high inward & outward irritability scores. Results supported the proposition that some suicidal people may […]

Psychological autopsies are interviews designed to reconstruct social & psychological circumstances associated with the manner of death in adults. There is renewed interest in this method to characterize youth suicides. This chapter reviews previous use of this technique with respect to choice of informants, control groups, & domains & assessment instruments; manner of approach to […]

The chapter evaluates research methods of studies of suicidal preadolescent & adolescent inpatients, psychiatric & those admitted to medical inpatient facilities. Research designs should include components that allow results to be compared with other studies or replicated, e.g. define & measure suicidal behavior, describe index sample, use appropriate comparison subjects, use standardized measures for data […]

Findings of an earlier study show a significantly decreased growth hormone response to desmethylimipramine in depressed & suicidal adolescents. Another study reported that suicidal adolescents with major depressive disorder hyposecrete growth hormone during sleep. In this paper, results of both studies are compared to similar studies in adults. (CM)

The purpose of this study was to examine differences between a group of adolescents who had made acts of deliberate self-harm (DSH) from those who did not. 40 subjects were residents of 2 adolescent care centres for emotionally disturbed &/or deliquent youths. Each group of 20 was subjected to several standardized personality, psychological, & cognitive […]

This is a preliminary report of an experiment involving 35 patients (aged 20 to 40 years) presently taking part in a 12-week sensitivity training program. It is hypothesized that participation will reduce suicidal threats, depression & manipulative behavior. Several rating scales were administered at the beginning of the program & will be repeated at intervals […]

This study investigates the ability of 2 psychological tests to predict suicide, the Serial Colour-Word Test (CWT) & the Meta-Contrast Technique (MCT), using 99 psychiatric patients included in a study of anti-depressive therapy in 1961-63 & followed up until 1984. Eight committed suicide. Both tests could predict suicide but the MCT was most successful. The […]

A male patient suffering from a generalized functional retrograde amnesia, for all autobiographical information, was admitted to a psychiatric inpatient facility. Psychological testing indicated possible sexual assault. Following 5 hypnotic sessions, the patient regained his memory & a violent sexual attack by 2 males was validated. The amnesia is discussed in terms of the constructs […]

15 patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), who had committed suicide in care or within a month of discharge, were compared to 13 patients with BPD who had not. The group that committed suicide had slightly higher affect scores on the Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines, had been more often hospitalized, & had made more suicide […]

Reviews the literature on self-worth & suicide in youth, & describes a study in which 350 grade 6 to 8 children, with various levels of suicidal ideation were given psychosocial measures. Results indicate a linear relationship between depression & ideation; that discrepancy between perceived competence & importance of success (to self & parents) was correlated […]

In this summary, the author discusses demographic predictors, statistical data on e.g. affective disorder, alcohol abuse, age, sex, marital status; clinical predictors e.g. ideation, hopelessness, personal crisis, & biological predictors e.g. higher mean cortisol level. Clinical factors seem to be more relevant to individual suicide prediction than demographic factors, but generally clinical factors & psychological […]

Effective prediction of suicide remains problematic. In this brief summary, the author suggests an alternative suicide predictor, the next self injury act, regardless of lethality of method. In adopting this strategy suicidologists will need to consider e.g. the suicide career model, & more subjective, new or transitory motives than in the past; use computers to […]

This investigation examines risk factors associated with adolescent suicide attempts. A sample of 50 hospitalized and 315 suicidal and non-suicidal high school students completed six self-report measures. The hospitalized adolescents had higher depression, hopelessness, and stress scores, and lower family cohesion and adaptability scores. Non-suicidals reported more peer relationship problems, less stress, and more family […]

The purpose of this study was to examine current psychosocial functioning of young adult females who had experienced incest with their biological fathers or long-time father-figures during their formative years. A sample of 44 females aged 25-38 were interviewed and tested using the GAS, the RSES, the Amstey ego identity measure, the Levitz intimacy measure, […]

The purpose of this research was to obtain an operational definition of the construct “affiliation” for suicidal and nonsuicidal individuals. The hypothesis that suicide attempters are characterized by disaffiliative behavior and nonsuicidals by affiliative behaviors was tested in a sample of suicidals and a like number of nonsuicidals. Scales used included the FIRO, the SPPFT […]

Cognitive & projective psychological tests were given to 20 female adolescents: 10 with anorexia nervosa & 10 with conduct disorders. All subjects were selected on the basis of race, sex, & overall intelligence. A significant finding was that there were far more suicidal indicators on the Rorschach records in the anorexia group as compared to […]

The literature on youth suicide (ages 15-24) is surveyed for the period 1980-1985. Emphasis is placed on general determinants of suicide, predictors in the form of psychological tests, precipitating events (immediate causes), and signs -clues that may signify impending attempts at self-destruction. Suggestions for prevention & limitations of research on suicide are offered.

Many believe that education of high school students in the classroom is a useful & effective tool in suicide awareness & prevention. Systematic program evaluation of such projects, however, is often lacking. The aim of this presentation is to describe the training curriculum for a pilot suicide project & the measures used to assess its […]

The purpose of this study is to identify the incidence of suicidal ideation among a sample of young adolescents (10-15) within a nonpsychiatric population and to compare the correlates associated with those adolescents who express suicidal ideation with those who do not. Patterns of factors related to adolescents having suicidal thoughts are identified. 350 students […]

Past approaches are reviewed & new ones proposed to establish adequate levels of reliability (consistency) as well as predictive validity in the development of suicidal assessment techniques. The complexity of this task lies in the multi-intentionality of suicidal behavior syndrome. Proposals include using a battery of psychological instruments, identification of clusters of variables defining suicidal […]