@article{ref1,
title="Higher hopelessness and suicide risk predict lower self-deception among psychiatric patients and non-clinical individuals",
journal="Rivista di psichiatria",
year="2011",
author="Pompili, Maurizio and Iliceto, Paolo and Luciano, Debora and Innamorati, Marco and Serafini, Gianluca and Del Casale, Antonio and Tatarelli, Roberto and Girardi, Paolo and Lester, David",
volume="46",
number="1",
pages="24-30",
abstract="The present study was designed to explore psychopathological correlates of self-deception in clinical and nonclinical individuals to ascertain whether self-deception was associated with higher hopelessness, a proxy of suicide risk. The patients were 58 consecutive psychiatric patients (30 men, 28 women) admitted to the Sant'Andrea Hospital's psychiatric ward in Rome. Controls were composed of a sample recruited from the general population (62 men and 80 women). All the participants completed the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding-6 Form 40A (BIDR). More than 55% of the patients had BHS scores of 9 or higher indicating severe hopelessness, while only 32% of the control subjects reported scores of 9 or higher on the BHS (p < .01). Subjects with BHS scores of 9 or higher (compared to subjects with lower scores) had lower scores on the self-deceptive enhancement dimension of the BIDR, and were also more likely to be unemployed or retired. Self-deception may be a coping response to stressful live events. Disruption of such coping mechanism may indeed increase suicide risk as individuals do not want to face self-awareness and get close to a highly negative self.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0035-6484",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}