Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T20:06:12.791Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Role of alexithymia in suicide ideation after traumatic brain injury

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2010

RODGER LL. WOOD ,
CLAIRE WILLIAMS  and
RUTH LEWIS
RODGER LL. WOOD*
Affiliation:
Brain Injury Research Group, Department of Psychology, School of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University, Swansea, Wales
CLAIRE WILLIAMS
Affiliation:
Brain Injury Research Group, Department of Psychology, School of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University, Swansea, Wales
RUTH LEWIS
Affiliation:
Brain Injury Research Group, Department of Psychology, School of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University, Swansea, Wales
*
*Correspondence and reprint requests to: Rodger Ll. Wood, Department of Psychology, School of Human Sciences, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A high frequency of suicide ideation (SI) has been reported following traumatic brain injury (TBI) (Simpson & Tate, 2002; Teasdale & Engberg, 2001). This study examined the frequency of SI following TBI, and its relationship to alexithymia, and depression, plus two components of depression—hopelessness and worthlessness. One hundred and five TBI patients and 74 demographically matched controls completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). Ratings of SI, hopelessness, and worthlessness were extracted from the BDI-II. Results confirm a high frequency of SI (33%) and alexithymia (61%) after TBI compared with healthy controls (1.4% and 6.5%, respectively). A high frequency of alexithymia was also found in a sub-group of moderate-severely depressed TBI patients (70.68%) compared with two non-TBI depressed samples (53.92% and 44.8%). A significant association was found between SI and alexithymia in the TBI group, with the SI group reporting significantly higher TAS-20 total scores. However, logistic regression analysis found that worthlessness was the strongest predictor of SI after TBI. The results of this study suggest that increased attention should be directed toward emotional change after TBI, as alexithymia may mediate the development of worthlessness and, in turn, increase the risk of SI. (JINS, 2010, 16, 1108–1114.)

Keywords

Brain injuriesEmotionsAffective symptomsDepressionHopelessnessWorthlessness
Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 16 , Issue 6 , November 2010 , pp. 1108 - 1114
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bagby, R.M., Parker, J.D.A., & Taylor, G.J. (1994). The Twenty Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale-I. Item selection and cross-validation of the factor structure. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 38, 23–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beck, A.T., Steer, R.A., & Brown, G.K. (1996). Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory-II. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Beck, A.T., Steer, R.A., Kovacs, M., & Garrison, B. (1985). Hopelessness and eventual suicide: A 10-year prospective study of patients hospitalized with eventual suicide. American Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 559–563.Google ScholarPubMed
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Diekstra, R.F.W., & Garnefski, N. (1988). On the nature, magnitude and causality of suicidal behaviors: An international perspective. Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior, 25, 36–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, R.C.W., Platt, D.E., & Hall, R.C.W. (1999). Suicide risk assessment: A review of risk factors for suicide in 100 patients who made severe suicide attempts. Psychosomatics, 40, 18–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hintikka, J., Honkalampi, K., Honkanen, H.K., Antikainen, R., Tanskanen, A., Haatainen, K., et al. . (2004). Alexithymia and suicide ideation: A 12-month follow-up study in a general population. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 45, 340–345.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hirsch, N., Hautekeete, M., & Kochman, F. (2001). [Early maladaptive processes, depression and alexithymia in suicidal hospitalized adolescents]. Encephale, 27, 61–70.Google ScholarPubMed
Honkalampi, K., Hintikka, J., Tanskanen, A., Lehtonen, J., & Viinamäki, H. (2000). Depression is strongly associated with alexithymia in the general population. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 48, 99–104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Honkalampi, K., Honkanen, K.H., Tanskanen, A., Hintikka, J., Lehtonen, J., & Viinamäki, H. (2001). Why do alexithymic features appear to be stable? A 12-month follow-up study of a general population. Psychotherapeutic Psychosomatization, 70, 247–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iancu, I., Dannon, P.N., Poreh, A., Lepkifker, E., & Grunhaus, L. (2001). Alexithymia and suicidality in panic disorder. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 42, 477–481.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jorge, R.E., Robinson, R.G., Arndt, S.V., Starkstein, S.E., Forrester, A.W., & Geisler, F. (1993). Depression following traumatic brain injury: A 1 year longitudinal study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 27, 233–243.Google Scholar
Kaltiala-Heino, R., Rimpela, M., Marttunen, M., Rimpela, A., & Rantanen, P. (1999). Bullying, depression and suicidal ideation in Finnish adolescents: School survey. British Medical Journal, 319, 348–351.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kauhanen, J., Kaplan, G.A., Cohen, R.D., Julkunen, J., & Salonen, J.T. (1996). Alexithymia and the risk of death in middle-aged men. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 41, 541–549.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kühner, C., Huffziger, S., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2007). Response styles questionnaire: German version. Göttingen: Hogrefe.Google Scholar
Larsson, B., & Ivarsson, T. (1998). Clinical characteristics of adolescent psychiatric inpatients who have attempted suicide. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 7, 201–208.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schotte, D.E., & Clum, G.A. (1982). Suicide ideation in a college population: A test of a model. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 50, 690–696.Google Scholar
Silver, J.M., Kramer, R., Greenwald, S., & Weissman, M. (2001). The association between head injuries and psychiatric disorders: Findings from the New Haven NIMH Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study. Brain Injury, 15, 935–945.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simpson, G., & Tate, R. (2002). Suicidality after traumatic brain injury: Demographic, injury and clinical correlates. Psychological Medicine, 32, 687–697.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Steer, R., Kumar, G., Ranieri, W., & Beck, A. (1998). Use of the Beck Depression Inventory-II with adolescent psychiatric outpatients. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 20, 127–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taiminen, T.J., Saarijarvi, S., Helenius, H., Keskinen, A., & Korpilahti, T. (1996). Alexithymia in suicide attempters. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia, 93, 195–198.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Taylor, G.J., Bagby, R.M., & Parker, J.D. (1992). The Revised Toronto Alexithymia Scale: Some reliability, validity, and normative data. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 57, 34–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Taylor, G.J., Bagby, R.M., & Parker, J.D. (1997). Disorders of affect regulation: Alexithymia in medical and psychiatric illness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Teasdale, T.W. (2006). 17% of people with traumatic brain injury attempt suicide. Evidence Based Mental Health, 6, 11–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teasdale, T.W., & Engberg, A.W. (2001). Suicide after traumatic brain injury: A population study. Journal of Neurological Neurosurgical Psychiatry, 71, 436–440.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wechsler, D. (2001). Wechsler test of adult reading. London: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Williams, C., & Wood, R.Ll. (2009). Alexithymia and emotional empathy following traumatic brain injury. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 22, 1–11.Google Scholar
Wood, R.Ll., & Williams, C. (2007). Neuropsychological correlates of organic alexithymia. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 13, 471–479.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wood, R.Ll., & Williams, C. (2008). Inability to empathize following traumatic brain injury. Journal of International Neuropsychological Society, 14, 289–296.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed