Citation

Lynch TR, Johnson CS, Mendelson T, Robins CJ, Ranga K, Krishnan R, Blazer DG. J. Affect. Disord. 1999; 56(1): 49-54.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. lynch011@mc.duke.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10626779

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Previous research has demonstrated that suicidal ideation often predicts suicide completion. METHODS: The present study examined clinical and phenomenological variables associated with the presence, development and remission of suicidal ideation among depressed adults. The sample (n = 81) was derived from subjects enrolled in the Duke Clinical Research Center for the Study of Depression in Late Life. RESULTS: Greater pessimistic thinking at baseline predicted the development of suicidal ideation one year later and the older a person was when he or she first experienced depression, the more likely he or she was to report remission from suicidal ideation one year following onset. LIMITATIONS: Longitudinal analyses were based on relatively small samples. Variables that were not significant in these analyses might be in a larger sample. CONCLUSIONS: The longitudinal design of this study mitigates limitations associated with cross-sectional or retrospective designs and advances our understanding of a clinical profile associated with the development and remission of suicidal thoughts.

Language: en