Self-Esteem,Locus of Control,and Suicide Risk

Abstract

Past research suggests that African American clients in need of mental health services are less likely to be properly diagnosed and receive appropriate treatment compared to White Americans. It has been further suggested that this may be even a greater problem for those who are both African American and female. In the current study, 2 groups of hospitalized clinically depressed females (92 African American females; 99 White females) were administered the Self-Esteem Rating Scale, Internal Control Index, and Suicide Risk Scale. Results indicated more similarities than differences between the two groups. For instance, there were no differences in locus of control or suicide risk between groups. In addition, although there were differences in self-esteem between groups, self-esteem was the best predictor of suicide risk within groups (White, R² =42%; African American, R² = 19%). African American females possessed higher self-esteem than White females (p = .05). For African American females age and self-esteem were positively correlated (r = .27, p =.01). Clinically depressed females could benefit from treatment focusing on improving self-esteem within a context of multicultural sensitivity.     

Knowledge of Suicide Risk Factors,But Not Suicide Ideation Severity,Is Greater Among College Students Who Viewed 13 Reasons Why

Abstract

Objective: To test associations between viewing 13 Reasons Why, Season 1 and past week suicide ideation severity, behavior risk, stigma, and knowledge in college students. To explore whether personal exposure to suicide and depressive symptom severity moderated these associations. Participants: Eight-hundred and eighteen college students, 64% (n?=?522) of whom watched 13 Reasons Why. Methods: Students completed surveys online. Multivariate negative binomial regressions were used to test associations between watching 13 Reasons Why and suicide-related variables, and interaction terms. Results: Suicide ideation severity and suicide behavior risk were not significantly associated with viewing 13 Reasons Why; however, there was limited statistical power to detect associations. The association between watching 13 Reasons Why and greater suicide knowledge was stronger among those who did not have personal exposure to suicide. Conclusions: 13 Reasons Why may be a platform for psychoeducation on suicide, particularly among those who do not have personal exposure.     

青少年心理控制源及其对日常行为的影响

心理控制源对个体心理和行为发展具有重要影响,也是近年来国内外研究较多的一种心理因素。青少年心理控制源对日常行为影响的研究结果显示：绝大多数青少年倾向于“内控性”,相信自己能控制自己的生活;随年级增长“内控性”呈下降趋势,大学生的“内控性”显著低于初中生;高中阶段是心理控制源发展的过渡期,是不同作用因子发生变化的关键期,具有教育引导的特殊意义;心理控制源对青少年的日常行为具有显著影响。在此研究基础上提出了改善青少年心理控制源的社会性教育对策。     

Suicide as Social Control1

Suicide may be moralistic in nature—a response to conduct the perpetrator defines as deviant. Moralistic suicide can be explained with a general theory of social control. Donald Black’s theories of social control explain the handling of grievances with their social structure—or geometry—as defined by the social characteristics and relationships of those involved in a conflict. Here I draw on Black’s paradigm of pure sociology and theories of social control to identify the social structure of moralistic suicide. For example, moralistic suicide varies directly with social closeness and is greater in an upward direction than in a downward direction. This theory is simple, general, testable, and explains variation not addressed by previous theories of suicide.     

青少年自杀现象与社会工作介入策略

青少年自杀现象已成为备受关注的社会问题。自杀意念率较高、明显的性别与地域差异、低龄化趋向、易受感染性、冲动性、原因的阶段性是其特点。导致青少年自杀有认知偏差、青春期内在冲突、不良个性特征与心理疾病等个体原因,有家庭结构残缺、关系不融洽及教养方式不当等家庭因素,有学业压力、教师素质、同伴影响的学校因素,同时与社会文化、现代传媒不良影响有关。社会工作介入的策略包括：倡导生命教育及形成预防机制以预防,采用区分对待、安抚陪伴、初次评估及支持系统的建构以干预。     

College Student Suicide in the United States: 1990-1991 Through 2003-2004

Suggestions that there is a growing epidemic of suicide among college students in the United States are false. The National Survey of Counseling Center Directors reports 1,404 student suicides over a 14-year period and an adjusted suicide rate of 6.5, half the rate of the general US population (12.6 for all races) during this period when matched for gender and age. Counseling centers appear effective in treating suicidal students, for although the suicide rate for students who were currently or previously clients at campus counseling centers is 3 times the rate of other students, student clients have 18 times the risk of suicide compared to students in general. Identifying and referring students at elevated risk for suicide could further reduce the crude and relative rate of student suicide. However, even programs that do this only moderately well may require substantial increases in counseling staffing.     

Locus of control and saving: The role of saving motives

Using data from a longitudinal survey representative of the Dutch population, we analyze the relationship between saving and locus of control, and we study the underlying mechanisms. Locus of control measures the extent to which individuals perceive their life outcomes to be determined by their own actions, as opposed to external factors. Those who believe to be in control of future outcomes turn out to save more, both at the extensive (decision to save) and intensive margins (amount saved). We investigate the mechanisms behind this relationship. We implement a mediation analysis to examine the role of saving motives, distinguishing between specific and non-specific purposes. The effect of external locus of control is direct, while the effect of internal locus of control is indirect, largely driven by (non-specific) saving motives.     

Risk Factors for Suicide in Taiwanese College Students

Objective: The authors investigated the personality characteristics, psychopathology, parenting style, and family function among Taiwanese college students with high, moderate, and low suicidal risks. Participants: The sample included 2,919 first-year college students (1,414 men, 1,505 women) from a university in Taipei, Taiwan. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire assessed domains covering demographics, personality, psychopathology, frequency of substance use, parenting style, family functioning, and suicidal behaviors. The authors used mixed models for data analysis. Results: The authors observed a positive linear trend between increased suicidal tendency and levels of neuroticism, harm avoidance, novelty seeking, psychopathology, and parenting styles of low affection, overprotection, and authoritarian controlling. Use of tobacco and alcohol and impaired family adaptation and cohesion were associated with high and moderate suicidal risks. Conclusions: Personality, psychopathology, substance use, and familial factors are important correlates of suicidal risks among college students in Taiwan. Optimal suicide prevention strategies in the college setting should incorporate the multiple facets of suicidal risks.     

Self-reported Barriers to Professional Help Seeking Among College Students at Elevated Risk for Suicide

Abstract

Objectives: This study sought to describe self-reported barriers to professional help seeking among college students who are at elevated suicide risk and determine if these barriers vary by demographic and clinical characteristics. Participants: Participants were 165 non–treatment seekers recruited as part of a Web-based treatment linkage intervention for college students at elevated suicide risk (from September 2010 through December 2011). Methods: Data were collected using Web-based questionnaires. Two coders coded students’ responses to an open-ended question about reasons for not seeking professional help. Results: The most commonly reported barriers included perception that treatment is not needed (66%), lack of time (26.8%), and preference for self-management (18%). Stigma was mentioned by only 12% of students. There were notable differences based on gender, race, and severity of depression and alcohol abuse. Conclusions: Efforts aimed at reaching students at elevated risk for suicidal behavior should be particularly sensitive to these commonly described barriers.     

Impulsiveness,Locus of Control,Motivation and Problem Gambling

A questionnaire consisting of demographic items, questions about gambling behavior, the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), a depression inventory, the Eysenck Impulsiveness Questionnaire, Levensons Internality, Powerful Others and Chance Scales of locus of control and the Gambling Motivation Scale, was completed by a non-random sample of 147 New Zealand university students who gambled for money, median age 24 years. Approximately 17 of the sample was classified as problem gamblers, the rest as non-problem gamblers. Multivariate analysis of variance showed that there were significant differences between problem and non-problem gamblers on gambling frequency, number of activities, parents gambling, depression, impulsiveness and motivation, but not on locus of control. Amotivation (apathy) and motivation towards stimulation correlated with powerful others and chance locus of control, and motivation to impress others with powerful others locus of control. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that: (1) beyond gambling frequency, number of activities and parents gambling, motivation explained a substantial proportion of variance in SOGS scores, with impulsiveness accounting for a lesser amount, and (2) predictors of problem gambling included impulsiveness, amotivation and the motivations for accomplishment and tension release. It was concluded that gambling motivation is a more useful construct than locus of control in explaining problem gambling. Suggestions were made for future research, and aspects of gambling motivation were discussed in terms of a treatment program with groups of problem gamblers.     

Older Lesbian and Gay People:

Using a theoretical model of lesbian and gay identity formation, this paper examines the complex relationships between families and older gay and lesbian adults as a way to better understand the extensive variations individuals have in their relationships with themselves, presentation of self, relationships with others and their behaviors. Three potential styles of lesbian and gay identity formation are described in order to highlight the structures and dynamics involved in issues for gay and lesbian elders and their families. It is argued that by challenging heterosexism and by minimizing homophobia, older lesbian and gay people experience a successful aging process. While individuals w R o are lesbian and gay have great potential to age with a sense of power, ride and fulfillment, so do the families from which they came an those they have created.     

Suicide Attempts by Adolescent Latinas: An Exploratory Study of Individual and Family Correlates

Epidemiological data show high rates of suicide attempts among adolescent Latinas. Few studies have addressed the psychosocial, cultural and family correlates of suicide attempts among this age group of a rapidly growing population. The authors studied 31 adolescent Hispanic females who were receiving mental health services; 14 girls had attempted suicide in the previous five years and 17 had never attempted suicide. The two groups of girls did not differ significantly with respect to demographic profiles, levels of depression, family type, acculturation, or self-esteem. However, as hypothesized, the mutuality between girls and their mothers was lower among suicide attempters. Maladaptive coping skills of withdrawal and wishful thinking were more commonly used by attempters, and non-attempters used emotional regulation and problem-solving more frequently. Findings are discussed within the context of the empirical and theoretical literature and implications for practice are considered.     

Young Adult Suicide and Sexual Orientation

ABSTRACT

The current project focused on the suicidal ideation and risk potential of young adults (N = 312) and explored scores on self-report measures of suicidal ideation inclusive of various sexual orientations. Results suggest that the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) youth surveyed (N = 73) differ in their display of suicide risk with significantly higher Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) and Suicide Probability Scale (SPS) scores. Social support served as a mitigating factor relating significantly to lower levels of hopelessness and suicidal ideation, especially among those LGB participants. The SPS held a significant relationship to suicide attempt in the past year, while the BHS held a significant relationship to suicide attempt in the past six months. Implications for counselors serving young adults are addressed, including specific suggestions to enhance counselor education and supervision related to suicide assessment and LGB counselor competency.     

Adolescents' Self-Reported Risk Factors and Desire to Talk About Family and Friends

Summary

Adolescents entering an urban mental health program completed Adquest, an 80-item self-report inventory asking about important areas in their life such as school and education, work, health, sexuality, substance abuse, personal and family life. This article examines how much adolescents wanted to talk about family and friends with their counselors, gender and age differences in this desire, and how that is mediated by behavioral risk factors. Irrespective of the existence of coping problems and behavioral risks, adolescents expressed a strong desire to discuss family, and, to a lesser extent, friends, in counseling. From a clinical standpoint, this finding highlights Adquest's limitations because it is based on an individual, behavioral risk paradigm rather than on more systemic factors in the lives of these adolescents. Implications regarding the use of practice-based research to facilitate reflective practice are discussed.     

Family Factors,Theft, Vandalism,and Major Deviance Among a Multiracial/Multiethnic Sample of Adolescent Girls

This article reports on a study of 503 African-American, Hispanic, and White non-Hispanic adolescent girls attending public schools in Miami, Florida. The primary objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence of 13 self-reported delinquent behaviors in the sample, to compare these rates among the three groups of students, and to explore the predictive influences of several family factors that correlate with delinquency. It was found that 37.5% of the sample engaged in one or more acts of serious delinquency, with African-Americans reporting they had engaged in significantly more of these behaviors. The best predictors of theft/vandalism were low family pride and family substance abuse for Hispanics, low family communication for African-Americans, and low family pride for White non-Hispanics. The findings indicate that traditional family factors that have been used repeatedly to understand delinquency by male adolescents were not strong predictors of delinquency among the adolescent girls in the sample.     

Locus of control and other-regarding behavior: Experimental evidence from a large heterogeneous sample

This paper investigates the relationship between locus of control and other-regarding behavior in a large and heterogeneous sample of the French population. We relate locus of control with incentivized measures of other-regarding behavior in the dictator and ultimatum games. Participants with high internal locus of control offer comparatively less in situations with passive responders (dictator game) but tend to increase their offers when their counterparts have veto power (ultimatum game). Moreover, they appear better at anticipating responders’ behavior in the ultimatum game, which leads to offers with a higher probability of acceptance and higher expected payoff. Some results for the ultimatum game, however, are sensitive to model specification and sample composition. Our findings suggest that a high internal locus of control increases individuals’ ability to adapt to strategic and non-strategic settings.     

Experience of Racism as a Correlate of Developmental and Health Outcomes Among Urban Adolescent Mental Health Clients

Summary

Correlates of race/ethnicity and perceived racism among 760 urban, predominantly Hispanic/Latino and African-American, adolescent mental health clients were investigated using an exploratory, clinical data-mining approach. All racial/ethnic groups reported substantial rates of racism, ranging from 80.0% for Asian/Pacific Islanders to 32.4% for Hispanic/Latinos. Racism was associated with significantly elevated environmental risk (e.g., violence, sexual abuse or assault, exposure to drug use), behavioral risk (e.g., drug use) and worry (e.g., worry about hurting self or others, worry about doing dangerous things). Overall, racism was significantly associated with more negative health and well-being outcomes than ability to get a gun, sexual orientation, and being enrolled in school. The authors conclude that experience of racism should be routinely assessed at intake to mental health services along with traumatic experiences such as physical or sexual abuse.     

Important Risk Factors in Home-Removal Decisions: Social Caseworker Perceptions

The current study identified factors that played a significant role in decisions to separate a child from his/her primary caretakers for 51 social service caseworkers. Participants rated and ranked the importance of 35 child risk/well-being factors used in recent child separation dispositions. Results indicated that boundary setting with a perpetrator of abuse and parental motivation played a significant role in decision-making. These preliminary findings suggest the need to prioritize services aimed at the promotion of the non-maltreating parent’s limit setting with the perpetrator of abuse, as well as caretaker motivation/cooperation.Virginia M. DeRoma is affiliated with The Citadel, Psychology Department, Capers Hall, 171 Moultrie, 29409, Charleston, SC, USA. Maria Lynn Kessler is affiliated with Oregon Institute of Technology, Klamath Falls, OR, USA. Ryan McDaniel is affiliated with New Hope for Children, Charleston, SC, USA. Cesar M. Soto is affiliated with Municipal Defense of Children and Adolescents, Chorrillos, Peru.Address correspondence to Virginia M. DeRoma, The Citadel, Psychology Department, Capers Hall, 171 Moultrie, Charleston, SC, 29409.     

Differences in Adolescent Experiences of Polyvictimization and Suicide Risk by Sexual Minority Status

Sexual minority adolescents (SMA) report more suicide risk behaviors than heterosexual adolescents. Polyvictimization (co‐occurrence of multiple types of victimization) may be an important, underresearched correlate of this disparity. With the 2017 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (N = 13,179), national estimates of polyvictimization and suicide risk were assessed among high school students by sexual minority status (SM vs. heterosexual), and multivariate relationships between sexual minority status, polyvictimization, and suicide risk were tested. Additionally, risk profiles of those who experienced polyvictimization (2 + types of victimization; n = 1,932) were compared across sexual minority status. Results confirm that SMA are more likely to experience polyvictimization than heterosexual adolescents (31.8% v. 12.9%, respectively); however, also indicate that polyvictimization does not fully explain elevated suicide risk among SMA.