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Biomedical subjects

M D Rudd

Publications and source records attributed to M D Rudd.

31 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Disentangling the interrelations between hopelessness, loneliness, and suicidal ideation.

We attempted to disentangle the interrelations between hopelessness, loneliness, and suicidal ideation, by comparing two conceptually driven models of their relationships, prospectively among 234 undergraduates, using a series of multiple regression/correlation equations. Model 1 framed loneliness as a risk factor for future suicidality that operates via its influence on hopelessness (the mediational view). Model 2 viewed hopelessness as a source variable that is predictive of both loneliness and suicidality, and postulated no relation between loneliness and suicidality beyond hopelessness. Model 2 received support, whereas Model 1 did not. We discuss the implications of our findings for the nomological status of hopelessness and loneliness as correlates of suicidality, and for exploration of the structural interrelations of suicide-related variables in general.

Depressive Disorder↗
PubMed1995

Use of the modified scale for suicidal ideation with suicide ideators and attempters.

The Modified Scale for Suicidal Ideation was administered to, and subsequently cross-validated on, a large sample of suicide ideators and attempters. Results confirmed previous reliability estimates and provided convincing evidence of the scale's concurrent, construct, discriminate, and predictive validity. The utility of the scale in screening with high-risk populations and other areas of critical need it addresses are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Help negation after acute suicidal crisis.

This study represents one of the first efforts to empirically differentiate between suicidal patients who complete treatment and those who voluntarily withdraw after resolution of the immediate crisis and, accordingly, before formally beginning treatment or within the first 2 days. Participants were contrasted across a range of variables, including suicide ideation, depression, hopelessness, problem solving, life stress, diagnoses in accordance with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev.; American Psychiatric Association, 1987), and characterological features. Results indicate the high-risk nature of those withdrawing prematurely from treatment and suggest that this behavior potentially represents another manifestation of overall maladaptive coping, consistent with prominent avoidant, negativistic, and passive-aggressive personality traits.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Negative attributional style for interpersonal events and the occurrence of severe interpersonal disruptions as predictors of self-reported suicidal ideation.

We applied the hopelessness theory of depression to suicidal symptoms: 203 undergraduates completed questionnaires on attributional style, negative life events, hopelessness, and suicidal symptoms at one point in time and again 10 weeks later. Consistent with prediction, the combination of a negative attributional style for interpersonal events and the occurrence of such events were prospectively related to increases in self-reported suicidality over the course of the 10-week study. These findings displayed specificity with respect to interpersonal versus achievement-related styles and events. Contrary to hypothesis, hopelessness did not mediate the relation between the Attributional style x Stress interaction and the increases in self-reported suicidality.

Achievement↗
PubMed1994

The active site of RNA polymerase II participates in transcript cleavage within arrested ternary complexes.

RNA polymerase II may become arrested during transcript elongation, in which case the ternary complex remains intact but further RNA synthesis is blocked. To relieve arrest, the nascent transcript must be cleaved from the 3' end. RNAs of 7-17 nt are liberated and transcription continues from the newly exposed 3' end. Factor SII increases elongation efficiency by strongly stimulating the transcript cleavage reaction. We show here that arrest relief can also occur by the addition of pyrophosphate. This generates the same set of cleavage products as factor SII, but the fragments produced with pyrophosphate have 5'-triphosphate termini. Thus, the active site of RNA polymerase II, in the presence of pyrophosphate, appears to be capable of cleaving phosphodiester linkages as far as 17 nt upstream of the original site of polymerization, leaving the ternary complex intact and transcriptionally active.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Problem-solving appraisal in suicide ideators and attempters.

The present study expands on previous research proposing a diathesis-stress-hopelessness model of suicidal behavior. The role of problem-solving appraisal within such a conceptual framework and the generalizability of the model across both suicide ideators and attempters are explored. Results support the critical role played by problem-solving appraisal in predicting both hopelessness and suicide ideation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Diagnostic comorbidity in persons with suicidal ideation and behavior.

OBJECTIVE: An initial finding of heightened risk of suicidal ideation or behavior among individuals in a random community sample who met diagnostic criteria for panic disorder or panic attacks was not replicated in later studies of both general and specific groups of psychiatric outpatients. The present study represented another effort to validate the finding. METHOD: The participants included 209 outpatients who had attempted suicide or were at high risk for continued suicidal behavior or eventual suicide. All subjects were evaluated with a structured clinical interview for assigning DSM-III-R diagnoses, the Modified Scale for Suicidal Ideation, the suicidal ideation subscale of the Suicide Probability Scale, and the Beck Hopelessness Scale. RESULTS: The findings indicated the relative complexity and importance of diagnostic comorbidity among these suicidal subjects. Mood disorders were the most frequent primary diagnoses, followed by phobias, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety disorder, and panic disorder. Panic disorder was not present as an isolated, independent diagnosis; on the contrary, all of the patients with panic disorder also received at least one additional comorbid diagnosis. Mean scores for suicidal ideation and hopelessness were greatest for patients with current comorbid primary mood disorder and panic disorder. However, a critical and equally important role was played by comorbid PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, and phobias. CONCLUSIONS: The findings represent another failure to validate, with a specific clinical group, panic disorder as an independent risk factor for suicidal ideation or behavior. However, they highlight the possibility that panic disorder and other anxiety disorders are risk factors when they co-occur with a primary mood disorder.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Social support and suicide.

Although considerable research from varied theoretical perspectives and across multiple disciplines has linked social support and suicide, few researchers have explored the relationship directly with any specificity. Investigators are encouraged to consider not only the type or source of support and related network characteristics, but also the specific role of support, the type of suicidal behavior examined, the type or source of stress across both temporal (i.e., acute vs chronic) and qualitative dimensions (i.e., desirable vs undesirable), particular features of the samples accessed, as well as potential interactions with a host of theoretically related variables such as problem-solving skills or adaptive coping.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1990

An outpatient treatment alternative for suicidal youth.

The present study demonstrates the safety and effectiveness of an outpatient treatment program for suicidal children and adolescents. Pre- and post-treatment measures of patient behavior and family functioning are presented for 47 adolescents and latency-aged children who received treatment from the Systemic Crisis Intervention Program at the Houston Child Guidance Center. Follow-up was conducted at three and six months and at a point between 12-18 months. All measures indicated significant long-term improvement. Data concerning post-institutional use and suicidal behavior are also presented.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

An integrative model of suicidal ideation.

An integrative path model is presented that details the relationships among several demographic variables, life stress, depression, hopelessness, social support, and suicidal ideation. The sample consisted of 737 university students, 287 males and 450 females. Negative life stress was found to be a significant predictor of both depression and hopelessness, which, in turn, mediated the relationship between life stress and suicidal ideation. Contrary to previous findings, depression proved to be a better predictor of suicidal ideation than hopelessness. Findings also illustrated the importance of including social support measures in the model, as significant relationships were discovered between social support and both life stress and suicidal ideation. The model accounted for a total of 34% of the variance in suicidal ideation. Individual findings are interpreted; the ways in which they reflect on previous research, and future efforts, are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

The prevalence of suicidal ideation among college students.

A total of 737 university students were surveyed using a psychometrically sound self-report measure of suicidal ideation. Over 43% of those participating were found to have experienced some level of suicidal ideation during the previous year. Of those found to have had suicidal thoughts, 14.9% in some way acted on those thoughts without actually making suicide attempts. An additional 5.5% were found to have made attempts on their lives. Serious suicidal ideation and actual attempts were related to several demographic traits, and implications of the results are discussed. In general, findings indicate that the problem of youth suicide may involve a greater percentage of young people than previously thought. Moreover, findings provide indirect support for the hypothesis that the difference in male-female completed suicide rates is primarily a function of the lethality of the attempts.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Systemic crisis intervention as a response to adolescent crises: an outcome study.

The present study demonstrates the safety and effectiveness of an outpatient program designed to respond to adolescent-precipitated crises by mobilizing and restructuring the family's kinship system. Families of 75 adolescents at risk for hospitalization were followed up to 24 months after treatment with Systemic Crisis Intervention. Measures of offspring and family functioning, suicidal behavior, institutional use, and treatment costs are presented. Results clearly demonstrate the safety, effectiveness, and economic viability of Systemic Crisis Intervention.

Adolescent↗