Citation

Witte TK, Didie ER, Menard W, Phillips KA. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 2012; 42(3): 318-331.

Affiliation

Tracy K. Witte, Department of Psychology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA; Elizabeth R. Didie, WilliamMenard, and Katharine A. Phillips, Rhode Island Hospital and the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1943-278X.2012.00093.x

PMID

22533555

Abstract

In a sample of 200 individuals diagnosed with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), we utilized the interpersonal-psychological theory for suicide as a framework to examine BDD behaviors that might be associated with suicide risk, insofar as they might increase the acquired capability for suicide. We predicted that physically painful BDD behaviors (e.g., cosmetic surgery, restrictive eating) would be associated with suicide attempts but not suicide-related ideation because these behaviors increase capability for, but not thoughts about, suicide. Our hypothesis was partially confirmed, as BDD-related restrictive food intake was associated with suicide attempts (but not suicide-related ideation) even after controlling for numerous covariates.

Language: en