Executive function in relation to suicidal thinking

Ong, E; Eachus, P; Tang, A; Thompson, C

Abstract

Suicidal behaviour is a public health problem and there is increasing concern regarding the rise of such behaviour. Although past studies have identified the role of cognitive factors in suicide, little has been done to explore the cognitive processes involved in suicidal thinking in adults. A cross-sectional study of 133 university undergraduates from Hong Kong (N=67) and the UK (N=64) was conducted to measure participants’ suicide ideation, coping, and executive function. Findings revealed that increased suicide ideation was related to deficits in executive function and an increase in avoidance-focused coping. Executive functions such as organization of material, initiation, and emotional control were important predictor variables in suicide ideation. The findings also indicated that coping is an important factor in the relationship between executive function deficits and suicide ideation.

Citation

Ong, E., Eachus, P., Tang, A., & Thompson, C. (2016, February). Executive function in relation to suicidal thinking. Presented at th Annual International Conference on Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology (CBP 2016), Singapore

• Presentation Conference Type: Other
• Conference Name: th Annual International Conference on Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology (CBP 2016)
• Conference Location: Singapore
• Start Date: Feb 22, 2016
• End Date: Feb 23, 2016
• Deposit Date: Oct 31, 2016
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5176/2251-1865_cbp16.16
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5176/2251-1865_cbp16.16
• Related Public URLs: http://cognitive-behavior.org/index.html
• Additional Information: Event Type : Conference