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Findings regarding the protective effect of social role functioning on suicide ideation in individuals with schizophrenia have been mixed. One reason for such inconsistencies in the literature may be that individuals with prominent negative symptoms of schizophrenia may not experience a desire for social closeness, and therefore social role functioning may not influence suicide risk in these individuals. The aim of this study was to examine the moderating effects of self-reported desire for social closeness and interviewer-rated negative symptoms on the relationship between social role functioning and suicide ideation. Our sample consisted of 162 individuals who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders; all participants completed self-report questionnaires and clinician-administered interviews, and moderation hypotheses were tested with a non-parametric procedure. The results indicated that motivation and pleasure-related negative symptoms moderated the relationship between social role functioning and suicide ideation; self-reported desire for social closeness and negative symptoms related to expression did not have such a moderating effect. Specifically, better social role functioning was associated with less suicide ideation only in those individuals who had low motivation and pleasure-related negative symptoms; no significant relationship was observed between social role functioning and suicide ideation among those with elevated motivation and pleasure-related negative symptoms. These findings suggest that assessing for negative symptoms and social role functioning may inform suicide risk assessments in individuals with schizophrenia, and improving social role functioning may reduce suicide ideation among those with few motivation and pleasure-related negative symptoms.

IntroductionThe Executive Interview (EXIT25) is an effective measure of executive dysfunction, but may be inefficient due to the time it takes to complete 25 interview-based items. The current study aimed to examine psychometric properties of the EXIT25, with a specific focus on determining whether a briefer version of the measure could comprehensively assess executive dysfunction.MethodThe current study applied a graded response model (a type of item response theory model for polytomous categorical data) to identify items that were most closely related to the underlying construct of executive functioning and best discriminated between varying levels of executive functioning. Participants were 660 adults ages 40 to 96 years living in West Texas, who were recruited through an ongoing epidemiological study of rural health and aging, called Project FRONTIER. The EXIT25 was the primary measure examined. Participants also completed the Trail Making Test and Controlled Oral Word Association Test, among other measures, to examine the convergent validity of a brief form of the EXIT25.ResultsEight items were identified that provided the majority of the information about the underlying construct of executive functioning; total scores on these items were associated with total scores on other measures of executive functioning and were able to differentiate between cognitively healthy, mildly cognitively impaired, and demented participants. In addition, cutoff scores were recommended based on sensitivity and specificity of scores.ConclusionA brief, eight-item version of the EXIT25 may be an effective and efficient screening for executive dysfunction among older adults.

Researchers tested the hypothesis that the negative impact of recent life events would moderate the relationship between intrinsic religiosity and death ideation in older adults. Participants (n = 272) completed assessments of death ideation, intrinsic religiosity, and negative impact of recent life events. We confirmed the presence of concurrent moderation and found that older adults with greater negative impact of recent life events and high intrinsic religiosity reported greater death ideation. These relatively surprising findings may be due to reduced fear of death in intrinsically religious older adults, an explanation consistent with previous research. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

Suicidology and suicide prevention are relatively new fields of study in the United States, but they have made significant progress since their beginnings. This study aimed to identify the most impactful theories in the history of science and suicidology and the most impactful events in the suicide prevention movement. These theories and events were identified through expert nomination. The most impactful theories were those of Shneidman, Durkheim, and Joiner. The most impactful events included the opening of the first suicide prevention center and hotline, the founding of the American Association of Suicidology, and national publications (e.g., "National Strategy for Suicide Prevention"). (Contains 2 tables.)

Older adults die by suicide at very high rates, and previous research indicates that perceived burdensomeness may contribute to deaths by suicide. In this study, the impact of the nature of relationships on perceived burdensomeness and suicide ideation was examined. Results indicated that older adults' perceptions of burden on younger generations were associated with greater overall perceived burdensomeness and suicide ideation when compared to the older adults' own or older generations. Thus, clinicians should examine general perceived burdensomeness as well as the types of relationships the older adult perceives himself or herself to be a burden on.

Adults age 65 and older have high rates of suicide, despite recent efforts to reduce the suicide rate in this population. One suicide prevention strategy with burgeoning empirical support is safety planning; however, there is a lack of information and resources on safety planning for older adults to support uptake of this evidence-based practice in clinical settings where older adults are commonly seen. Safety plans can address risk factors for suicide in older adults, including social isolation, physical illness, functional limitations, and use of highly lethal means. Safety plans also promote relevant protective factors, including increasing use of coping strategies, social support, and help-seeking. Clinicians may encounter challenges and barriers to safety planning with older adults. This paper describes a collaborative, creative approach to safety planning that is relevant and useful for this vulnerable population. Using two case examples, we illustrate how to engage older adults in safety planning, including ways to minimize barriers associated with the aging process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:The study was designed to explore patterns of prescriber communication behaviors as they relate to consumer satisfaction among a serious mental illness sample. Methods:Recordings from 175 antipsychotic medication-monitoring appointments between veterans with psychiatric disorders and their prescribers were coded using the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS) for communication behavioral patterns. Results:The frequency of prescriber communication behaviors (i.e., facilitation, rapport, procedural, psychosocial, biomedical, and total utterances) did not reliably predict consumer satisfaction. The ratio of prescriber to consumer utterances did predict consumer satisfaction. Conclusions:Consistent with client-centered care theory, antipsychotic medication consumers were more satisfied with their encounters when their prescriber did not dominate the conversation. Practice implications:Therefore, one potential recommendation from these findings could be for medication prescribers to spend more of their time listening to, rather than speaking with, their SMI consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Suicide prevention efforts are focused at many levels, including ensuring competence among mental health professionals and training gatekeepers to recognize warning signs. Yet previous research has found that only approximately half of psychology trainees receive suicidology training and it is not clear how prevalent suicidology courses for undergraduates, potentially important gatekeepers on college campuses, are. The twofold aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of suicidology courses in psychology undergraduate programs, and to update the literature regarding the characteristics of suicidology training in clinically-oriented graduate psychology programs. Psychology faculty members (N = 177) responded to an email request to participate in an online study. At the undergraduate level, approximately 3% of responding institutions offered suicidology courses. At the graduate level, a majority of responding programs offered training in the assessment and treatment of suicidal clients; training was primarily incorporated into existing courses and practica, and few offered suicidology courses or workshops. Approximately 4% of clinically-oriented graduate psychology programs offered no suicidology training. Beliefs about offering suicidology training were generally positive, but a number of barriers were noted, such as lack of resources and knowledge about suicidology. Responses suggest a recent shift toward offering more suicidology training in psychology graduate programs, though additional work is needed to ensure that training is adequate and all psychologists are competent in this area. Efforts are also required to address barriers to offering suicidology training at the graduate and undergraduate levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The roles of perceived burdensomeness and depressive symptoms in the relationship between physical disabilities or health conditions and suicidal ideation warrant examination. The authors examined indirect effects using cross-sectional data from adults who answered questions online. The serial indirect effect of the number of physical disabilities on suicidal ideation through perceived burdensomeness and depressive symptoms was not significant, but the serial indirect effects of the combined number of physical disabilities and health conditions and number of health conditions on suicidal ideation through perceived burdensomeness and depression were each significant. For those with disabilities or health conditions, perceived burdensomeness may precede depressive symptoms in the development of suicidal ideation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]