Cited by 183Suicide and Self-Harm StudiesAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesTreatment of Major Depression

Social emotion recognition, social functioning, and attempted suicide in late-life depression

Open access
Szanto, Katalin, Dombrovski, Alexandre Y., Sahakian, Barbara J., Mulsant, Benoit H., Houck, Patricia R., Reynolds, Charles F., Clark, Luke·2012·The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry

Abstract

Objectives : Lack of feeling connected and poor social problem solving have been described in suicide attempters. However, cognitive substrates of this apparent social impairment in suicide attempters remain unknown. One possible deficit, the inability to recognize others' complex emotional states has been observed not only in disorders characterized by prominent social deficits (autism-spectrum disorders and frontotemporal dementia) but also in depression and normal aging. This study assessed the relationship between social emotion recognition, problem solving, social functioning, and attempted suicide in late-life depression.Design, participants, measurements : There were 90 participants: 24 older depressed suicide attempters, 38 nonsuicidal depressed elders, and 28 comparison subjects with no psychiatric history. We compared performance on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test and measures of social networks, social support, social problem solving, and chronic interpersonal difficulties in these three groups.Results : Suicide attempters committed significantly more errors in social emotion recognition and showed poorer global cognitive performance than elders with no psychiatric history. Attempters had restricted social networks: they were less likely to talk to their children, had fewer close friends, and did not engage in volunteer activities, compared to nonsuicidal depressed elders and those with no psychiatric history. They also reported a pattern of struggle against others and hostility in relationships, felt a lack of social support, perceived social problems as impossible to resolve, and displayed a careless/impulsive approach to problems.Conclusions : Suicide attempts in depressed elders were associated with poor social problem solving, constricted social networks, and disruptive interpersonal relationships. Impaired social emotion recognition in the suicide attempter group was related.

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  • A recent U.S. study that focused on depressed suicide attempters aged 60 and above found that social cognition deficits differentiated individuals who had engaged in suicidal behavior from mentally healthy controls.

    “A recent U.S. study that focused on depressed suicide attempters aged 60 and above found that social cognition deficits differentiated individuals who had engaged in suicidal behavior from mentally healthy controls [72].”
  • Individuals who had engaged in suicidal behavior demonstrated significantly more errors on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test than mentally healthy controls.

    “Specifically, individuals in the former group demonstrated significantly more errors on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test, which measures emotion recognition capabilities by having participants make subtle discriminations between photographs of facial expressions.”

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [40]Gregory C Lough S Stone V Theory of mind in patients with frontal variant frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease: theoretical and practical implications Brain 2002 125 752 764 11912109

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Authors
Szanto, K., Dombrovski, A. Y., Sahakian, B. J., Mulsant, B. H., Houck, P. R., Reynolds, C. F., & Clark, L.
Affiliations
  • University of Pittsburgh (US)
  • University of Cambridge (GB)
  • Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CA)
Venue
The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2012-03
Volume
20
Issue
3
Pages
257-265
ISSN
1064-7481 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2160351927
Cited by
183
References
52
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 5
FWCI
8.63
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • Wellcome Trust
  • National Institutes of Health (UL1TR000005)
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research
  • National Institute of Mental Health (P30MH071944, K23MH086620, K23MH070471, R01MH085651)
  • National Center for Research Resources (UL1RR024153)
  • National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
Keywords
suicide attempts, geriatric depression, social problem solving, social functioning, social networks, social support, interpersonal problems, Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, older adults, cognitive impairment
MeSH terms
Age Factors, Aged, Analysis of Variance, Depressive Disorder, Major, Major Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Male, Problem Solving, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Psychological Tests, Social Adjustment, Social Support, Suicide, Attempted, Chi-Square Distribution, Case-Control Studies, Emotional Intelligence

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