William J. Meyer

Bio: William J. Meyer is an academic researcher from University of Colorado Colorado Springs. The author has contributed to research in topics: Personality & Suicidal ideation. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publications receiving 81 citations.

Personality, Suicidal Ideation, and Reasons for Living among Older Adults

Abstract: Objectives. This study examined associations between diverse types of personality disorder (PD) features, personality traits, suicidal ideation, and protective factors against suicide among community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: Participants (N = 109, M age = 71.4 years, 61% female) completed the Coolidge Axis II Inventory, NEO Five-Factor Inventory, Geriatric Suicide Ideation Scale, and Reasons for Living Inventory. RESULTS: PD features had positive correlations with suicidal ideation and mixed relationships with aspects of reasons for living. Personality traits had negative correlations with suicidal ideation, with the exception of neuroticism, which had a positive relationship, and were mostly unrelated to reasons for living. In regression analyses, borderline and histrionic were the only PD features that contributed significant variance in suicidal ideation, whereas neuroticism was the only personality trait that contributed significant variance in suicidal ideation. No individual PD features or personality traits contributed significant variance in reasons for living. Discussion. The findings highlight the complexity of risk and protective factors for suicide and suggest that a thorough assessment of suicidal potential among older adults should include attention to their underlying personality traits. Language: en

Relationships among depressive, passive-aggressive, sadistic and self-defeating personality disorder features with suicidal ideation and reasons for living among older adults

Abstract: Objectives: Suicide among older adults is a major public health problem in the USA. In our recent study, we examined relationships between the 10 standard DSM-5 personality disorders (PDs) and suicidal ideation, and found that the PD dimensions explained a majority (55%) of the variance in suicidal ideation. To extend this line of research, the purpose of the present follow-up study was to explore relationships between the four PDs that previously were included in prior versions of the DSM (depressive, passive-aggressive, sadistic, and self-defeating) with suicidal ideation and reasons for living.Method: Community-dwelling older adults (N = 109; age range = 60–95 years; 61% women; 88% European-American) completed anonymously the Coolidge Axis II Inventory, the Reasons for Living Inventory (RFL), and the Geriatric Suicide Ideation Scale (GSIS).Results: Correlational analyses revealed that simple relationships between PD scales with GSIS subscales were generally stronger than with RFL subscales. Regarding G...

Classic psychedelic use is associated with reduced psychological distress and suicidality in the United States adult population

Abstract: Mental health problems are endemic across the globe, and suicide, a strong corollary of poor mental health, is a leading cause of death. Classic psychedelic use may occasion lasting improvements in...

Adapting Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Older Adults at Risk for Suicide

Abstract: Objective To pilot a psychological intervention adapted for older adults at risk for suicide. Design A focused, uncontrolled, pre-to-post-treatment psychotherapy trial. All eligible participants were offered the study intervention. Setting Outpatient mental health care provided in the psychiatry department of an academic medical center in a mid-sized Canadian city. Participants Seventeen English-speaking adults 60 years or older, at risk for suicide by virtue of current suicide ideation, death ideation, and/or recent self-injury. Intervention A 16-session course of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) adapted for older adults at risk for suicide who were receiving medication and/or other standard psychiatric treatment for underlying mood disorders. Measurements Participants completed a demographics form, screens for cognitive impairment and alcohol misuse, a semi-structured diagnostic interview, and measures of primary (suicide ideation and death ideation) and secondary study outcomes (depressive symptom severity, social adjustment and support, psychological well-being), and psychotherapy process measures. Results Participants experienced significant reductions in suicide ideation, death ideation, and depressive symptom severity, and significant improvement in perceived meaning in life, social adjustment, perceived social support, and other psychological well-being variables. Conclusions Study participants experienced enhanced psychological well-being and reduced symptoms of depression and suicide ideation over the course of IPT adapted for older adults at risk for suicide. Larger, controlled trials are needed to further evaluate the impact of this novel intervention and to test methods for translating and integrating focused interventions into standard clinical care with at-risk older adults.

A Life Span Perspective on Borderline Personality Disorder.

Abstract: Purpose of review To provide an update of a life span perspective on borderline personality disorder (BPD). We address the life span course of BPD, and discuss possible implications for assessment, treatment, and research. Recent findings BPD first manifests itself in adolescence and can be distinguished reliably from normal adolescent development. The course of BPD from adolescence to late life is characterized by a symptomatic switch from affective dysregulation, impulsivity, and suicidality to maladaptive interpersonal functioning and enduring functional impairments, with subsequent remission and relapse. Dimensional models of BPD appear more age neutral and more useful across the entire life span. There is a need for age-specific interventions across the life span. Summary BPD symptoms and impairments tend to wax and wane from adolescence up to old age, and presentation depends on contextual factors. Our understanding of the onset and early course of BPD is growing, but knowledge of BPD in late life is limited. Although the categorical criteria of DSM allow for reliable diagnosis of BPD in adolescence, dimensional models appear both more age neutral, and useful up to late life. To account for the fluctuating expression of BPD, and to guide development and selection of treatment across the life span, a clinical staging model for BPD holds promise.

Reasons for living, meaning in life, and suicide ideation: investigating the roles of key positive psychological factors in reducing suicide risk in community-residing older adults

Abstract: Objectives: To investigate the roles of reasons for living (RFL) and meaning in life (MIL) in potentially promoting mental health and well-being and protecting against suicide ideation among community-residing older adults and to investigate the psychometric properties of the Reasons for Living Scale-Older Adult version (RFL-OA).Method: Of 173 older adults initially recruited into a longitudinal study on late-life suicide ideation, 109 completed the RFL-OA and measures of cognitive and physical functioning and positive and negative psychological factors at a two-year follow-up assessment. We tested a model in which RFL and MIL protect against suicide ideation, controlling for demographic and clinical factors. We also assessed the psychometric properties of the RFL-OA in community-residing older adults, investigating its internal consistency and its convergent (MIL, perceived social support, and life satisfaction), divergent (loneliness, depressive symptom severity, and suicide ideation), and discriminant ...

Characterizing the phenomenology of passive suicidal ideation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of its prevalence, psychiatric comorbidity, correlates, and comparisons with active suicidal ideation.

Abstract: BackgroundCompared to active ideation, passive ideation remains relatively understudied and its clinical importance poorly defined. The weight that should be accorded passive ideation in clinical risk assessment is therefore unclear.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of passive ideation, its psychiatric comorbidity, associated sociodemographic characteristics, as well as psychological and environmental correlates. For reference, pooled effects were also calculated for direct comparisons of passive and active ideation with respect to potential correlates. Relevant articles published since inception to 9 September 2019 were identified through a systematic search of MEDLINE and PsycINFO.ResultsA total of 86 studies were included in this review. The prevalence of passive ideation was high across sample types, ranging from 5.8% for 1-year prevalence to 10.6% for lifetime prevalence in the general population. Passive ideation was strongly associated with sexual minority status, psychiatric comorbidity, psychological characteristics implicated in risk, and suicide attempts. Preliminary evidence exists for a large association with suicide deaths. The effect sizes for individual correlates of passive and active ideation were largely equivalent and mostly non-significant in head-to-head comparisons.ConclusionsPassive ideation is a prevalent clinical phenomenon associated with significant psychiatric comorbidity. Current evidence also suggests notable similarities exist between passive and active ideation in terms of psychiatric comorbidity and psychological and other characteristics traditionally associated with risk.