Skip to main content
Log in

Components of hopelessness about the future in parasuicide

  • Published:
Cognitive Therapy and Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Hopelessness about the future is an important component of depression in general and suicidal behavior in particular. Despite this, little research has examined the concept of hopelessness. A study is reported which adapted a verbal fluency paradigm to examine the ease with which hospitalized parasuicides, hospital controls, and nonhospital controls were able to think about future positive (things they were looking forward to) and future negative (things they were not looking forward to) events. The parasuicide subjects showed a deficit in being able to think of future positive events, both for the immediate future and for the longer-term future. but there were no differences between the groups on being able to think of future negative events. Several possible explanations of the results are discussed and some suggestions are made for future research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abramson, L. Y., Alloy, L. B., & Metalsky, G. I. (1989). Hopelessness depression: A theory-based subtype of depression.Psychological Review, 96 358–372.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R. F. (1990). Suicide as escape from the self.Psychological Review, 97 90–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, A. T., Brown, G., & Steer, R. A. (1989). Prediction of eventual suicide in psychiatric inpatients by clinical ratings of hopelessness.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57 309–310.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, A. T., Weissman, A., Lester, D., & Trexler, L. (1974). The measurement of pessimism: The hopelessness scale.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 42 861–865.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, G. W., & Harris, T. O. (1988). Life events and measurement. In, G. W. Brown & T. O. Harris (Eds.),Life events and illness. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fawcett, J., Scheftner, W. A., Fogg, L., Clark, D. C., Young, M. A., Hedeker, D., & Gibbons, R. (1990). Time-related predictors of suicide in major affective disorder.American Journal of Psychiatry, 147 1189–1194.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greaves, G. (1971). Temporal orientation in suicidal patients.Perceptual and Motor Skills, 33 1020.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greene, S. M. (1989). The relationship between depression and hopelessness: Implications for current theories of depression.British Journal of Psychiatry, 154 650–659.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart, S., Smith, C. M., & Swash, M. (1988). Word fluency in patients with early dementia of Alzheimer type.British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 27 115–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawton, K., & Catalan, J. (1987).Attempted suicide (2nd ed.). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lezak, M. D. (1976).Neuropsychological assessment. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linehan, M. D., & Nielson, S. L. (1981). Social desirability: Its relevance to the measurement of hopelessness and suicide behavior.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51 141–143.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCrae, R., & Costa, P. (1983). Social desirability scales: More substance than style.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51 882–888.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melges, F. T., & Bowlby, J. (1969). Types of hopelessness in psychopathological process.Archives of General Psychiatry, 20 690–699.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melges, F. T., & Weisz, A. E. (1971). The personal future and suicidal ideation.The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 153 244–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Needles, D. J., & Abramson, L. Y. (1990). Positive life events, attributional style, and hopefulness: Testing a model of recovery from depression.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 99 156–165.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paykel, E., Prusoff, B., & Myers, J. (1975). Suicide attempts and recent life events.Archives of General Psychiatry, 32 327–333.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pederson, A., Awad, G., & Kindler, A. (1973). Epidemiological differences between white and non-white suicide attempters.American Journal of Psychiatry, 130 1071–1076.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petrie, K., Chamberlain, K., & Clarke, D. (1988). Psychological predictors of future suicidal behaviour in hospitalized suicide attempters.British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 27 247–258.

    Google Scholar 

  • Platt, S., & Kreitman, N. (1984). Trends in parasuicide and unemployment among men in Edinburgh, 1968–1982.British Medical Journal, 289 1029–1032.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rotheram-Borus, M. J., Trautman, P. D., Dopkins, S. C., & Shrout, P. E. (1990). Cognitive style and pleasant activities among female adolescent suicide attempters.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58 554–561.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salter, D., & Platt, S. (1990). Suicidal intent, hopelessness and depression in a parasuicide population: The influence of social desirability and elapsed time.British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 29 361–371.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schotte, D. E., Cools, J., & Payvar, S. (1990). Problem-solving deficits in suicidal patients: trait vulnerability or state phenomenon?Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58 562–564.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spitzer, R. L., Endicott, J., & Robins, E. (1978). Research diagnostic criteria: rationale and reliability.Archives of General Psychiatry, 35 773–782.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wetzel, R. D., Margulies, T., Davis, R., & Karam, E. (1980). Hopelessness, depression, and suicidal intent.Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 41 159–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, J. M. G., MacLeod, A. K., & Rose, G. S. (1992).Autobiographical memories and autobiographical futures in suicidal patients: Evidence for a specificity heuristic. Unpublished manuscript.

  • Yufit, R. I., Benzies, B., Font, M. E., & Fawcett, J. A. (1970). Suicide potential and time perspective.Archives of General Psychiatry, 23 158–163.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

MacLeod, A.K., Rose, G.S. & Williams, J.M.G. Components of hopelessness about the future in parasuicide. Cogn Ther Res 17, 441–455 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01173056

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01173056

Key words

Navigation