Citation

Cunningham KC, LoSavio ST, Dennis PA, Farmer C, Clancy CP, Hertzberg MA, Kimbrel NA, Calhoun PS, Beckham JC. J. Affect. Disord. 2018; 243: 216-219.

Affiliation

Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States; The VA Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center,Durham, NC, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, United States.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jad.2018.09.040

PMID

30248631

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Suicidal ideation is a problem that disproportionately affects veterans. Moreover, veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appear to be at particularly high risk for suicide.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present research was to examine whether shame mediates the association between PTSD and suicidal ideation.

METHODS: Secondary analyses were conducted in a sample of 201 veterans with PTSD seeking care through an outpatient Veterans Affairs specialty PTSD clinic.

RESULTS: Path analysis revealed that shame fully accounted for the effects of PTSD on suicidal ideation, suggesting that shame may represent a key link between PTSD and suicidal ideation among veterans. LIMITATIONS: Although the reverse mediation effect was also examined, the present sample was cross-sectional and predominantly male.

CONCLUSIONS: The present findings suggest that shame may be an effective point of treatment intervention to reduce suicidal ideation among veterans with PTSD; however, additional prospective research is still needed to delineate the precise nature of these associations over time.

Published by Elsevier B.V.

Language: en

Keywords

Emotions; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Shame; Suicidal ideation; Suicide; Veterans