What is the mechanism by which suicide attempts predispose to later suicide attempts? A mathematical model.

A state dependence model of serial behavior suggests that each occurrence increases the subsequent likelihood of that behavior being repeated. A heterogeneity model, by contrast, suggests that the likelihood of a behavior occurring is predetermined and uninfluenced by intervening occurrences. We have applied the random-effects probit model of R. D. Gibbons and R. D. Bock (see record 1987-20831-001) to examine the fit of the state dependence and heterogeneity models to longitudinal data on suicide attempts by 928 patients with affective disorder. Heterogeneity but not state dependence was required to model these data. The findings suggest that when considering patients with moderate to severe major affective disorder, the clinician should not interpret the absence of any recent suicide attempts to mean that the patient is at relatively low risk for attempting suicide in the future. An implication of the heterogeneity model is that suicide attempts made many years ago may have equal value to recent attempts when estimating an individual's "predisposition" to nonlethal attempts in the future. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A college suicide prevention model for American Indian students.

College student suicide prevention efforts are important to campus administrators and mental health professionals due to increasing concerns about managing suicidal students. This article describes the development and preliminary effectiveness of a campus suicide prevention program designed for American Indian (AI) students who are at higher risk for suicide compared with the general population. Using the medicine wheel as a guiding framework, the current prevention model integrates communication links between AI tribes and prevention program staff, educational and cultural programming, and spiritual ceremonies with the larger campus mental health resources available to students. A discussion of the barriers faced and solutions generated for implementing the program is offered, along with suggestions for disseminating this AI-specific prevention program to other universities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of suicide attempts: State and trait components.

The authors examined the state and trait components of 3 predictors of suicide attempts (depression, hopelessness, and anxiety), and their relationship to suicidal behavior. Self-report questionnaire and interview data from 180 adolescents enrolled in a prospective naturalistic study were analyzed. Between 23% and 30% of the variance in the predictors was attributable to subjects' trait levels of these variables; the trait, as well as the state, components of the predictor variables were interrelated; and trait levels of these variables were consistently related to suicide attempts. To reduce long-term risk of suicide attempts, clinicians should focus not only on reducing short-term distress but also on reducing individuals' more enduring patterns (trait levels) of negative affectivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Client receptiveness to the routine assessment of past suicide attempts.

Approximately 14% of male and 22% of female college students participating in individual therapy reported having had a suicide attempt at some point in their lives, and 50% of the individuals with a history of suicide attempt discussed the attempt during the intake interview. Approximately 77% of all clients were receptive to the routine evaluation of past suicide attempts, whereas approximately 20% were undecided. Only 3% of all respondents reported it was not a good idea to assess past suicide attempts routinely. The authors recommend including the routine assessment of suicide risk factors into intake protocols. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identification of nearly fatal suicide attempts: Self-Inflicted Injury Severity Form

We studied the interaction of n-octyl-beta-d-glucopyranoside-solubilized VIP receptors (VIPR) with wheat germ agglutinin and found that the addition of the lectin to the detergent extract led to the formation of aggregates that could be pelleted by high speed centrifugation. Resuspension of the pellet in the presence of the competing trisaccharide, N,N', N"-triacetylchitotriose (TAC), dissociated the lectin from the complex without altering the precipitability of VIPR. The final pellet (referred to as TAC pellet) contained an average of 12% of total protein and 96% of total VIP binding activity with a typical rank order of potency for VIP-related peptides. Lipid analysis and electron microscopic examination indicated that the precipitated material was composed of lipid vesicles. VIPR molecules were shown to be integrally inserted in the liposomes because they could not be dissociated from the vesicles at pH 11 or with high salt concentration. By comparing the liposome-associated VIP binding activity in the presence and absence of detergent and by showing accessibility of VIPR to PNGase F, it was concluded that VIP binding sites were not simply trapped within the reconstituted vesicles but likely exposed at the external surface of the liposomes.     

A 5-year follow-up study of suicide attempts

We reviewed 59 hips in 44 children with slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE), all treated by in situ pinning. The average clinical and radiographic follow-up was 11.4 years. Fifty-three hips (90%) were rated as either excellent or good. Osteonecrosis or chondrolysis developed in five patients. Postoperative remodeling was noted, not only by a process of local resorption and apposition of bone, but also by correction of the disturbed anatomic axes, in proportion to the severity of the slip, together with global thickening of the femoral neck. We believe that the good long-term results after in situ pinning are the consequence of this important remodeling process.     

The theory and practice of health education applied to nursing: a bi-polar approach

Because CD1-restricted T cells lack CD4 but produce IFN-gamma in response to nonpeptide mycobacterial antigens, they could play a unique role in immunity to tuberculosis. We studied CD1-restricted T cells in the context of HIV infection by expanding CD4(-) T cell lines from 10 HIV-infected patients. Upon stimulation with Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen or upon exposure to macrophages infected with M. tuberculosis, these T cell lines proliferated, produced IFN-gamma, and showed cytolytic T cell (CTL) activity against macrophages pulsed with mycobacterial antigen, findings consistent with a protective role against M. tuberculosis. Anti-CD1b antibodies abrogated T cell proliferation, IFN-gamma production, and CTL activity, demonstrating that these T cells are CD1 restricted. IFN-gamma production in response to M. tuberculosis was enhanced by antitransforming growth factor-beta in 8/10 lines, and by IL-15 in 2/10 lines. IFN-gamma production was augmented in a nonantigen-specific manner by IL-12 in 4/8 lines. When live HIV was cocultured with CD1-restricted T cell lines, p24 antigen and proviral DNA were not detected, indicating that the T cells were not infectable with HIV. Vaccination strategies aimed at activation and expansion of M. tuberculosis-reactive CD1-restricted T cells in HIV-infected patients may constitute a novel means to provide protection against tuberculosis, while minimizing the risk of enhancing HIV replication through stimulation of CD4(+) cells.     

Psychological and social indicators of suicide ideation and suicide attempts in Zuni adolescents.

Suicide behavior is a significant problem for many American Indian populations, often more so than in the general population, but little tribal-specific data is available. In this study, baseline data on the correlates of suicide ideation and the social and psychological differences between suicide attempters and nonattempters were collected on a sample of 84 Zuni adolescents. Results show significant correlations between a measure of suicide ideation and past suicide attempt behavior, drug use, depression, hopelessness, stress, psychological symptomatology, social support, liking for school, and interpersonal communication. Significant differences between the 30% of the students who reported having previously attempted suicide and the nonattempters were also found on these measures. Areas for education and prevention efforts are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The act frequency approach to personality.

Personality dispositions are viewed as summaries of act frequencies that, in themselves, possess no explanatory status. As sociocultural emergents, dispositions function as natural cognitive categories with acts as members. Category boundaries are fuzzy, and acts within each category differ in their prototypicality of membership. This formulation is illustrated by a series of studies involving undergraduate raters, which focused on indices of act trends and on a comparative analysis of the internal structure of dispositions. The act frequency approach is placed within a taxonomic framework of the relations among act categories and hierarchic classification. Theoretical implications of the act frequency approach are examined. Dispositional consistency is distinguished from behavioral consistency, and several act frequency indices (e.g., dispositional versatility and situational scope) are defined. Situational analysis and personality coherence are viewed from the act frequency perspective. Discussion focuses on the possible origins and development of dispositional categories and implications of alternative middle-level constructs for act categorization and personality theory. (102 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The contribution of environmental events and social support to serious suicide attempts in primary depressive disorder.

Interviewed patients (18–65 yrs old) about the events that occurred to them or their spouse in the 12 mo previous to the suicide attempt. Only primary depressive attempters (14 Ss) were selected, and for purposes of comparison, a primary depressive control group (14 Ss) was selected. Ss were administered the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Moreover, seriousness of suicide attempts was quantified and assessed in each patient, and only moderately or severely serious attempters were chosen. Results show that the occurrence of serious suicide attempts is strongly associated with an increased rate of independent events (events not influenced by the patient's behavior, decisions, or disorder) in the year preceding the attempt, and that a particularly high density of such events between episodic onset and the attempt may serve as the direct initiator of an attempt. Data also suggest that exit events, where an important social support is lost to the patient, may play a significant role in initiating an attempt. Implications for the highest risk period of suicide are discussed. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The use of designated drivers by US college students: a national study

A representative national sample of students attending 4-year colleges in the United States reported whether they had served as or had ridden with a designated driver in the past 30 days and how much alcohol they had consumed the last time they used this prevention strategy. Among drinkers (those who had consumed alcohol in the past year), 36% said they had served as a designated driver in the past 30 days; of these, 40% said they usually binged when they drank but had not done so the last time they served as the designated driver, with the vast majority either abstaining or having 1 drink. Among drinkers, 37% reported riding with a designated driver in the past 30 days; of these, 22% said they did not usually binge but did so the last time they had a designated driver because they had had 1 or more extra drinks. Among college students, using designated drivers is now a well-established strategy for avoiding impaired driving.     

Prevalence of and risk factors for suicide attempts versus suicide gestures: Analysis of the National Comorbidity Survey.

Definitions and classification schemes for suicide attempts vary widely among studies, introducing conceptual, methodological, and clinical problems. We tested the importance of the intent to die criterion by comparing self-injurers with intent to die, suicide attempters, and those who self-injured not to die but to communicate with others, suicide gesturers, using data from the National Comorbidity Survey (n = 5,877). Suicide attempters (prevalence = 2.7%) differed from suicide gesturers (prevalence = 1.9%) and were characterized by male gender, fewer years of education, residence in the southern and western United States; psychiatric diagnoses including depressive, impulsive, and aggressive symptoms; comorbidity; and history of multiple physical and sexual assaults. It is possible and useful to distinguish between self-injurers on the basis of intent to die. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Suicidality and cognitive vulnerability to depression among college students: a prospective study

Using a behavioral high-risk two-site prospective design, we tested the cognitive vulnerability hypotheses about suicidality. Consistent with prediction, the high cognitive risk (HR) participants were more likely than the low cognitive risk (LR) participants to exhibit suicidality, measured by both structured diagnostic interview and questionnaire self-report, during the 2 1/2 year prospective follow-up period. Moreover, when the prospective period was examined as a whole, the mediation hypothesis derived from the cognitive theories was strongly supported. Hopelessness appeared to mediate the obtained relationship between cognitive vulnerability and suicidality. Finally, the obtained relationship between cognitive vulnerability and suicidality was not mediated by other hypothesized risk factors for suicidality not specified in the cognitive theories, such as past suicidality, personal history of depressive disorders, borderline and antisocial personality dysfunction, and parental history of depression.     

Matlab用于大学物理实验教学的探索

本文通过对高校物理实验教学现状的分析，以实例阐述了利用Matlab进行物理实验教学的优势。Matlab强大的计算与图形功能以及由它扩展的动态仿真环境，不仅给物理及物理实验教学带来了极大的方便．同时也使物理实验变得更加生动有趣。Matlab走入物理实验，为教学改革提供了广阔的前景。     

Prediction of suicide ideation and attempts among adolescents using a brief performance-based test.

Suicide is a leading cause of death that is difficult to predict because clinical assessment has relied almost exclusively on individuals' self-report of suicidal thoughts. This is problematic because there often is motivation to conceal such thoughts. The authors tested the ability of the Self-Injury Implicit Association Test (SI-IAT), a reaction-time measure of implicit associations between self-injury and oneself, to detect and predict suicide ideation and attempts. Participants were adolescents who were nonsuicidal (n = 38), suicide ideators (n = 37), or recent suicide attempters (n = 14). Analyses revealed large between-group differences on the SI-IAT, with nonsuicidal adolescents showing large negative associations between self-injury and themselves, suicide ideators showing small positive associations, and suicide attempters showing large positive associations on this performance-based test. The SI-IAT accurately predicted current suicide ideation and attempt status as well as future suicide ideation, and it incrementally improved prediction of these outcomes above and beyond the use of known risk factors. Future research is needed to refine this assessment method and to further develop and examine performance-based assessment of suicide risk in clinical settings (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol-related expectancies predict quantity and frequency of heavy drinking among college students.

Alcohol-related expectancies covary consistently with consumption patterns; limited research also suggests that expectancies can predict future drinking behavior. However, the ability of expectancies to predict high-risk drinking has not been evaluated among college students. Participants were 140 undergraduates who completed an alcohol use assessment at 2 points in time, separated by. 1 month. Using multiple regression analyses, the author determined that alcohol-related expectancies accounted for a small but significant percentage of variance in each of 2 alcohol consumption variables. Global positive expectancies predicted maximum daily quantity, and sexual enhancement expectancies predicted the frequency of intoxication, even when controlling for baseline levels of both variables. These findings support alcohol abuse prevention efforts designed to modify cognitive expectancies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)