Abstract
Purpose
We examined whether the tendency to interpret situation-specific information as indicating one is a liability on others (i.e., burden-related interpretation bias) is associated with beliefs that one is a burden on others (perceived burdensomeness) and suicide thoughts and behaviors.
Methods
888 participants completed interpretation bias tasks and measures of perceived burdensomeness, suicide ideation and suicide attempt, and depressive symptoms.
Results
Burden-related interpretation bias was significantly associated with perceived burdensomeness, suicide ideation, and a lifetime suicide attempt. Perceived burdensomeness mediated the associations between burden-related interpretation bias and suicide thoughts and behaviors. These associations largely remained significant after controlling for depressive symptoms.
Conclusions
These results identify burden-related interpretations as an information processing bias related to the belief that one is a burden on others and suicide thoughts and behaviors. As such, they set the stage for the development and evaluation of approaches to intervene on burden-related interpretation bias to prevent and/or reduce suicide thoughts and behaviors.
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Notes
We are grateful to an anonymous reviewer for suggesting these analyses.
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Acknowledgements
Dr. Buitron is supported by the NIH FIRST award number U54CA267730, with funding support from the Office of the Director at NIH. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
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JWP conceived the study and its design. RMH organized the data collection. JWP analyzed the data. JWP, VB, and RMH interpreted the data. JWP drafted the manuscript, and VB and RMB provided revisions. All authors approved the final manuscript.
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Dr. Pettit receives royalties from New Harbinger and American Psychological Association. Dr. Hill receives royalties from New Harbinger. Dr. Buitron has no financial interests to declare.
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Pettit, J.W., Buitron, V. & Hill, R.M. Burden-Related Interpretation Bias: A Novel Predictor of Perceived Burdensomeness and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors. Cogn Ther Res (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-023-10433-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-023-10433-1