Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The research project aimed to enhance understanding of suicidality by applying existing models of personality, motivation and emotion to the particular case of suicidal behaviour. In short, the research tested a model of suicidal behaviour which incorporated, for the first time, a number of recognised risk factors for psychological distress (including perfectionism, future thinking, goal adjustment and behavioural inhibition/activation sensitivity). Specifically, the research had five aims: to determine whether the sensitivity of the behavioural inhibition/behavioural activation systems (BIS/BAS) underpins suicidality; to determine whether the BIS/BAS sensitivity predicts future thinking; to investigate further the relationship between perfectionism, future thinking and suicidality; to determine whether perfectionism mediates the relations between BIS/BAS and suicidality; and to investigate whether goal adjustment moderates the relationship between social perfectionism and suicidality. To investigate these aims, 267 patients were recruited from a central Scotland general hospital, following an episode of self-harm, and asked to complete a range of psychological measures in the hospital (Time 1) and then again approximately two months later (Time 2). The results yielded evidence in support of each of the five aims noted above. Firstly, there was evidence that some of the BAS dimensions are associated with suicide risk and positive future thinking. In addition, it was found that positive future thinking moderated the relationship between social perfectionism and suicide risk, as predicted. However, there was no evidence that future thinking mediated the relationship between perfectionism and suicide risk. Although there was no evidence that perfectionism mediated the relationship between BIS/BAS and suicide risk, the results suggest that positive future thinking may act as a partial mediator in this relationship. Finally, goal adjustment may also moderate the relationship between perfectionism and suicide risk.

Main Topics:

Topics covered personality and suicidal behaviour, and associated measures. Respondents' demographic details were also gathered.

Convenience sample

Psychological measurements