Suicide Risk according to the Negative Cognitive Triad, Ideation, Despair and Depression

Abstract

Objective: Determine the relationship between suicidal ideation, despair, the negative cognitive triad and depression, as evidence of the cognitive model of suicidal risk. Method: This is an empirical-analytical study with a descriptive, correlational and comparative design. The variables were measured with the BDI-II, PANSI and ITC inventories and the BHS scale. The final sample included 90 participants of both sexes, with a mean age of 24.2 years (DT = 8.65 years). They were from different socioeconomic brackets and most were college educated. Results: Statistically significant correlations were found between suicidal ideation, despair, depression and the negative cognitive triad. There were important differences between the depressive and non-depressive groups, with major effects for the three cognitive variables. Interpretation and Conclusions: These results constitute new evidence of the proposed cognitive model concerning the relationship between depression, the negative cognitive triad, suicidal ideation and despair, as proposed in different reviews on negative cognition and suicide. The limitations of the study were analyzed with respect to the small size of the sample, the differences between the sexes in terms of depression in the face of specific stressors, and the variations by age groups in suicidal risk among the young.