Suicidal Intent, Hopelessness and Depression in a Parasuicide Population: the Influence of Social Desirability and Elapsed Time

This study assesses the Beck Hopelessness Scale (HS) & the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Through interviews with 50 economically active parasuicide patients, the authors confirmed that hopelessness accounts for the relationship between depression & suicidal intent. They also found that social desirability has no predictive power in explaining variation in suicidal intent. The time between the attempted suicide & the interview was positively related with suicidal intent.