CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 101Suicide and Self-Harm StudiesOptimism, Hope, and Well-beingAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes

Optimism and suicide ideation among young adult college students

Hirsch, Jameson K., Conner, Kenneth R., Duberstein, Paul R.·2007·Archives of Suicide Research
DOI 10.1080/13811110701249988
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Given that college students may be at increased risk for suicide, it is important to conduct research that could guide suicide prevention efforts on college campuses. Although much research has been conducted on the role of hopelessness and depression in suicide ideation, the role of dispositional optimism is unclear. Subjects were 284 college students (185 female, 65%), ages 18 and over. Optimism was assessed with the Life Orientation Test-Revised. The outcome measure was the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation. A hierarchical, multivariate regression was used to test the hypothesis that optimism is inversely associated with suicide ideation, even after controlling for age, gender, depressive symptoms, and hopelessness. The hypothesis was supported. Optimism holds promise as a cognitive characteristic associated with decreased thoughts of suicide in college students; a better understanding of its putative protective role in this group, and cross-culturally, is needed. Prevention programs designed to enhance optimism in the college setting might decrease suicide risk.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1080/13811110701249988

Cites

71 of 71 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Optimism, gratitude and other positive states have been associated with reductions in hopelessness, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, often independent of depression.

    “Optimism, gratitude and other positive states have been associated with reductions in hopelessness, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, often independent of depression [10 -16].”

    From Feasibility and utility of positive psychology exercises for suicidal inpatients (2014) · cites this paper as [10]

  • We chose hopelessness and optimism as key outcome measures due to their established links to suicidality; hopelessness has been associated with completed suicide, independent of severity of mood symptoms.

    “We chose hopelessness and optimism as key outcome measures due to their established links to suicidality [10 -12]. Hopelessness has been associated with completed suicide, independent of severity of mood symptoms [46,47]”

    From Feasibility and utility of positive psychology exercises for suicidal inpatients (2014) · cites this paper as [10]

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Hirsch, J. K., Conner, K. R., & Duberstein, P. R.
Affiliations
  • Rochester Institute of Technology (US)
  • University of Rochester Medicine (US)
Corresponding author
Hirsch, Jameson K.
ORCID
Venue
Archives of Suicide Research
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2007-03-21
Volume
11
Issue
2
Pages
177-185
ISSN
  • 1381-1118 (ISSN-L)
  • 1543-6136
DOI
10.1080/13811110701249988
OpenAlex
W2102888809
Cited by
101
References
71
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 8
FWCI
2.18
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Archives of Suicide Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (5t32mh020061-25)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (T32 MH20061, T32-MH020061)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Optimism, Hope, and Well-being
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
Keywords
dispositional optimism, suicidal ideation, university students, young adults, suicide prevention, hopelessness, depressive symptoms, Life Orientation Test-Revised, Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Cross-Sectional Studies, Depression, Female, Humans, Imagination, Male, Middle Aged, Students, Suicide, Temperament, United States, Multivariate Analysis, Linear Models

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review