Aggression, Impulsivity and Suicidal Behavior in Depressive Disorders: A Comparison Study between New York City (US), Madrid (Spain) and Florence (Italy)

The association of aggression and impulsivity with suicidal behavior (SB) in depression may vary across countries. This study aimed (i) to compare aggression and impulsivity levels, measured with the Brown-Goodwin Scale (BGS) and the Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS), respectively, between New York City (NYC) (US), Madrid (Spain) and Florence (Italy) (ANOVA); and (ii) to investigate between-site differences in the association of aggression and impulsivity with previous SB (binary logistic regression). Aggression scores were higher in NYC, followed by Florence and Madrid. Impulsivity levels were higher in Florence than in Madrid or NYC. Aggression and impulsivity scores were higher in suicide attempters than in non-attempters in NYC and in Madrid. SB was associated with aggression in NYC (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.07–1.16; p p = 0.032). Impulsivity was linked with SB in NYC (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00–1.02; p p < 0.001). The higher suicide rates in NYC, compared to Madrid or Florence, may be, in part, explained by these cross-cultural differences in the contribution of aggression-impulsivity to SB, which should be considered by future research on SB prevention

Changes in mental health literacy about depression: South Australia, 1998 to 2004

The document attached has been archived with permission from the editor of the Medical Journal of Australia (26 April 2007). An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.OBJECTIVE: To identify changes in mental health literacy in regard to depression between 1998 and 2004. DESIGN AND SETTING: Face-to-face interviews with a random and representative sample of the South Australian population in 2004, compared with a similarly conducted survey in 1998 that used the same vignette, questions and methodology. PARTICIPANTS: 3015 randomly selected participants, aged 15 years and over. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Responses to both open-ended and direct questions about symptoms and treatment options for depression. RESULTS: The 3015 interviews conducted represented a response rate of 65.9%. Compared with 1998, in 2004 there was a significant increase in the proportion of people recognising depression in the vignette, acknowledging personal experience of depression, and perceiving professional assistance to be more helpful and less harmful. However, although more people nominated psychiatrists or psychologists as therapists of choice, the difference between 1998 and 2004 was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: There has been a significant increase in mental health literacy, at least as regards depression, in the South Australian community between 1998 and 2004. The lack of significant change in psychiatrists and/or psychologists being perceived as therapists of choice is of concern and suggests that community education about their expertise may be appropriate.Robert D Goldney, Laura J Fisher, Eleonora Dal Grande and Anne W Taylo

Can We Really Prevent Suicide?

Every year, suicide is among the top 20 leading causes of death globally for all ages. Unfortunately, suicide is difficult to prevent, in large part because the prevalence of risk factors is high among the general population. In this review, clinical and psychological risk factors are examined and methods for suicide prevention are discussed. Prevention strategies found to be effective in suicide prevention include means restriction, responsible media coverage, and general public education, as well identification methods such as screening, gatekeeper training, and primary care physician education. Although the treatment for preventing suicide is difficult, follow-up that includes pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, or both may be useful. However, prevention methods cannot be restricted to the individual. Community, social, and policy interventions will also be essentia

Predictors of short and long term recurrence of suicidal behavior in borderline personality disorder

Objective: To evaluate the incidence of suicidal outcomes and risk factors for short- and long-term recurrence of suicidal behavior (SB) among high-risk borderline personality disorder (BPD) patients during a 24-month prospective follow-up period. Methods: A multicenter prospective cohort study was designed to compare data obtained from 136 patients admitted to the emergency department for current suicidal ideation (SI) or a recent suicide attempt (SA). Subjects were clinically evaluated and monitored for a new SA or suicide. Results: The incidence of a new SA was 25.63 events/100 persons-year, and one patient died by suicide. Child sexual abuse (CSA) was the only significant predictor throughout the complete follow-up period. The absence of prior psychiatric treatment predicts the recurrence of SB in the first 6 months of follow-up. Patient age, poor psychosocial functioning before hospitalization, age at first SA, and having multiple suicide attempts increased risk of SB recurrence at the long-term period (24th months). In addition, there was an interaction between CSA and poor psychosocial functioning that increased risk of SB. Conclusion: The risk of recurrence was higher during the first 6 months. Risk factors at 6 and 24 months vary. These findings are important for implementing suicide strategies.Fil: Rodante, Demián E.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Hospital de Clínicas General San Martín; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Farmacologia; ArgentinaFil: Grendas, Leandro. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Farmacologia; Argentina. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital Municipal "José Tiburcio Borda"; ArgentinaFil: Puppo, Soledad. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Farmacologia; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Hospital de Clínicas General San Martín; ArgentinaFil: Vidjen, Patricia. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital Municipal "José Tiburcio Borda"; ArgentinaFil: Portela, Alicia. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital Municipal "José Tiburcio Borda"; ArgentinaFil: Rojas, Sasha M.. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; Estados UnidosFil: Chiapella, Luciana Carla. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Cs.bioquímicas y Farmaceuticas. Departamento de Cs.fisiologicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Daray, Federico Manuel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Farmacologia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay; Argentin

The Spheres & Shield Maze Task: A virtual reality serious game for the assessment of risk taking in decision making

[EN] Risk taking (RT) is an essential component in decision-making process that depicts the propensity to make risky decisions. RT assessment has traditionally focused on self-report questionnaires. These classical tools have shown clear distance from real-life responses. Behavioral tasks assess human behavior with more fidelity, but still show some limitations related to transferability. A way to overcome these constraints is to take advantage from virtual reality (VR), to recreate real-simulated situations that might arise from performance-based assessments, supporting RT research. This article presents results of a pilot study in which 41 individuals explored a gamified VR environment: the Spheres & Shield Maze Task (SSMT). By eliciting implicit behavioral measures, we found relationships between scores obtained in the SSMT and self-reported risk-related constructs, as engagement in risky behaviors and marijuana consumption. We conclude that decontextualized Virtual Reality Serious Games are appropriate to assess RT, since they could be used as a cross-disciplinary tool to assess individuals' capabilities under the stealth assessment paradigm.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness funded projects "Advanced Therapeutic Tools for Mental Health'' (DPI2016-77396-R), and "Assessment and Training on Decision Making in Risk Environments'' (RTC-2017-6523-6) (MINECO/AEI/FEDER,UE) and by the Generalitat Valenciana funded project "Rebrand'' (PROMETEU/2019/105).Juan-Ripoll, CD.; Soler-Domínguez, JL.; Chicchi-Giglioli, IA.; Contero, M.; Alcañiz Raya, ML. (2020). The Spheres & Shield Maze Task: A virtual reality serious game for the assessment of risk taking in decision making. Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking. 23(11):773-781. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2019.0761S7737812311Bechara, A., Damasio, H., Tranel, D., & Damasio, A. R. (2005). 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Secondary Prevention of Suicide

Leo Sher and colleagues discuss recent research on interventions to prevent secondary suicide and discuss the additional research that is needed

Suicidality and hostility following involuntary hospital treatment

Background Psychiatric patients showing risk to themselves or others can be involuntarily hospitalised. No data is available on whether following hospitalisation there is a reduction in psychopathological indicators of risk such as suicidality and hostility. This study aimed to assess changes in suicidality and hostility levels following involuntary admission and their patient-level predictors. Methods A pooled analysis of studies on involuntary treatment, including 11 countries and 2790 patients was carried out. Suicidality and hostility were measured by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Results 2790 patients were included; 2129 followed-up after one month and 1864 after three months. 387 (13.9%) patients showed at least moderate suicidality when involuntarily admitted, 107 (5.0%) after one month and 97 (5.2%) after three months. Moderate or higher hostility was found in 1287 (46.1%) patients after admission, 307 (14.5%) after one month, and 172 (9.2%) after three months. Twenty-three (1.2%) patients showed suicidality, and 53 (2.8%) patients hostility at all time-points. Predictors of suicidality three months after admission were: suicidality at baseline, not having a diagnosis of psychotic disorder and being unemployed. Predictors of hostility were: hostility at baseline, not having a psychotic disorder, living alone, and having been hospitalized previously. Conclusions After involuntary hospital admission, the number of patients with significant levels of suicidality and hostility decreases substantially over time, and very few patients show consistently moderate or higher levels of these symptoms. In patients with psychotic disorders these symptoms are more likely to improve. Social factors such as unemployment and isolation could hamper suicidality and hostility reduction and may be targeted in interventions to reduce risk in involuntarily admitted patients

Suicide among Arab-Americans

BACKGROUND: Arab-American (AA) populations in the US are exposed to discrimination and acculturative stress-two factors that have been associated with higher suicide risk. However, prior work suggests that socially oriented norms and behaviors, which characterize recent immigrant ethnic groups, may be protective against suicide risk. Here we explored suicide rates and their determinants among AAs in Michigan, the state with the largest proportion of AAs in the US. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: ICD-9/10 underlying cause of death codes were used to identify suicide deaths from among all deaths in Michigan between 1990 and 2007. Data from the 2000 U.S. Census were collected for population denominators. Age-adjusted suicide rates among AAs and non-ethnic whites were calculated by gender using the direct method of standardization. We also stratified by residence inside or outside of Wayne County (WC), the county with the largest AA population in the state. Suicide rates were 25.10 per 100,000 per year among men and 6.40 per 100,000 per year among women in Michigan from 1990 to 2007. AA men had a 51% lower suicide rate and AA women had a 33% lower rate than non-ethnic white men and women, respectively. The suicide rate among AA men in WC was 29% lower than in all other counties, while the rate among AA women in WC was 20% lower than in all other counties. Among non-ethnic whites, the suicide rate in WC was higher compared to all other counties among both men (12%) and women (16%). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Suicide rates were higher among non-ethnic white men and women compared to AA men and women in both contexts. Arab ethnicity may protect against suicide in both sexes, but more so among men. Additionally, ethnic density may protect against suicide among Arab-Americans