Suicidal behavior is a major problem worldwide and, at the same time, has received relatively little empirical attention. This relative lack of empirical attention may be due in part to a relative absence of theory development regarding suicidal behavior. The current article presents the interpersonal theory of suicidal behavior. We propose that the most dangerous form of suicidal desire is caused by the simultaneous presence of two interpersonal constructs—thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness (and hopelessness about these states)—and further that the capability to engage in suicidal behavior is separate from the desire to engage in suicidal behavior. According to the theory, the capability for suicidal behavior emerges, via habituation and opponent processes, in response to repeated exposure to physically painful and/or fear-inducing experiences. In the current article, the theory’s hypotheses are more precisely delineated than in previous presentations (Joiner, 2005), with the aim of inviting scientific inquiry and potential falsification of the theory’s hypotheses.

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The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide

Although research on coping over the past 30 years has produced convergent evidence about the functions of coping and the factors that influence it, psychologists still have a great deal to learn about how coping mechanisms affect diverse outcomes. One of the reasons more progress has not been made is the almost exclusive focus on negative outcomes in the stress process. Coping theory and research need to consider positive outcomes as well. The authors focus on one such outcome, positive affect, and review findings about the co-occurrence of positive affect with negative affect during chronic stress, the adaptive functions of positive affect during chronic stress, and a special class of meaning-based coping processes that support positive affect during chronic stress.

http://psych415.class.uic.edu/Readings/Folkman,%20Positive%20affect%20&%20coping,%20AmPsy,%202000.pdf

Positive affect and the other side of coping.

Interest in meaning and meaning making in the context of stressful life events continues to grow, but research is hampered by conceptual and methodological limitations. Drawing on current theories, the author first presents an integrated model of meaning making. This model distinguishes between the constructs of global and situational meaning and between "meaning-making efforts" and "meaning made," and it elaborates subconstructs within these constructs. Using this model, the author reviews the empirical research regarding meaning in the context of adjustment to stressful events, outlining what has been established to date and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of current empirical work. Results suggest that theory on meaning and meaning making has developed apace, but empirical research has failed to keep up with these developments, creating a significant gap between the rich but abstract theories and empirical tests of them. Given current empirical findings, some aspects of the meaning-making model appear to be well supported but others are not, and the quality of meaning-making efforts and meanings made may be at least as important as their quantity. This article concludes with specific suggestions for future research.

Making Sense of the Meaning Literature: An Integrative Review of Meaning Making and Its Effects on Adjustment to Stressful Life Events.

People are generally unaware of the operation of the system of cognitive mechanisms that ameliorate their experience of negative affect (the psychological immune system), and thus they tend to overestimate the duration of their affective reactions to negative events. This tendency was demonstrated in 6 studies in which participants overestimated the duration of their affective reactions to the dissolution of a romantic relationship, the failure to achieve tenure, an electoral defeat, negative personality feedback, an account of a child's death, and rejection by a prospective employer. Participants failed to distinguish between situations in which their psychological immune systems would and would not be likely to operate and mistakenly predicted overly and equally enduring affective reactions in both instances. The present experiments suggest that people neglect the psychological immune system when making affective forecasts.

/pdf/immune-neglect-a-source-of-durability-bias-in-affective-3i6n0z40xv.pdf

Immune neglect: A source of durability bias in affective forecasting.

Drawing from theory and clinical lore, we consider how individuals are assumed to cope following irrevocable loss. Several assumptions are reviewed reflecting beliefs concerning the grieving process. Specifically, we examine the expectation that depression is inevitable following loss; that distress is necessary, and failure to experience it is indicative of pathology; that it is necessary to "work through" or process a loss; and that recovery and resolution are to be expected following loss. Although limited research has examined these assumptions systematically, available empirical work fails to support and in some cases contradicts them. Implications of our analysis for theoretical development and research are explored. Finally, w e maintain that mistaken assumptions held about the process of coping with loss fail to acknowledge the variability that exists in response to loss, and may lead others to respond to those who have endured loss in ways that are unhelpful. In this article, we focus on how people cope with loss events that involve permanent change and cannot be altered or undone. It is our belief that such experiences provide an excellent arena in which to study basic processes of stress and coping. In the health and medical areas, many specific losses might be considered irrevocable: the permanent loss of bodily function, the loss of particular body parts, the loss of cognitive capacity, the death of a loved one, or one's own terminal illness. In an attempt to advance theoretical development in this rich and complex area, this article updates an earlier review we completed on reactions to undesirable life events (Silver & Wortman, 1980). Because the most rigorous empirical studies have been in the areas of physical disability and bereavement, we shall focus on these two areas in this article. When a person experiences an irrevocable loss, such as the death of a loved one or permanent paralysis, how will he or she react? We maintain that people hold strong assumptions about how others should respond to such losses. As we have discussed in more detail elsewhere (Silver & Wortman, 1980; Wortman & Silver, 1987), such assumptions are derived in part from the theories of loss offered by prominent writers in the area, and in part from clinical lore about coping with loss and our cultural understanding of the experience. As detailed below, individuals who encounter a loss are expected to go through a period of intense distress; failure to experience such distress is thought to

/pdf/the-myths-of-coping-with-loss-4m6rd52xrh.pdf

The myths of coping with loss.

Cataclysms, crises, and catastrophes: Psychology in action.

This book answers important questions about professional liability that are asked by all mental health practitioners, and it offers suggestions about how to integrate safeguards into daily practice that will best meet the interests of clients and practitioners.

Gary R. VandenBos

Papers

Cataclysms, crises, and catastrophes: Psychology in action.

Professional Liability and Risk Management