Psychache and Suicidality in Adult Mood Disordered Outpatients in Brazil

• Published in: Suicide & life-threatening behavior Vol. 33; no. 3; pp. 242 - 248
• Main Authors: Berlim, Marcelo T., Mattevi, Betina S., Pavanello, Daniele P., Caldieraro, Marco Antonio, Fleck, Marcelo P. A., Wingate, LaRicka R., Joiner Jr, Thomas E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-09-2003; Guilford
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Adults; Affective Symptoms - diagnosis; Affective Symptoms - epidemiology; Affective Symptoms - psychology; Aged; Alcohol Abuse; Anxiety Disorders; Anxiety Disorders - diagnosis; Anxiety Disorders - epidemiology; Anxiety Disorders - psychology; Behavior; Biological and medical sciences; Bipolar Disorder - diagnosis; Bipolar Disorder - epidemiology; Bipolar Disorder - psychology; Brazil - epidemiology; Comorbidity; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression (Psychology); Depressive Disorder, Major - diagnosis; Depressive Disorder, Major - epidemiology; Depressive Disorder, Major - psychology; Dysthymic Disorder - diagnosis; Dysthymic Disorder - epidemiology; Dysthymic Disorder - psychology; Eating Disorders; Educational Attainment; Emotions; Female; Humans; Interpersonal Relationship; Male; Medical Evaluation; Medical sciences; Mental health; Middle Aged; Pain; Pain - epidemiology; Pain - psychology; Panic Disorder - diagnosis; Panic Disorder - epidemiology; Panic Disorder - psychology; Patients; Phobic Disorders - diagnosis; Phobic Disorders - epidemiology; Phobic Disorders - psychology; Physical Health; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Psychological Needs; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Quality of Life; Quality of Life - psychology; Resilience (Psychology); Suicide; Suicides & suicide attempts; South America; Brazil; America; Human; Mood disorder; Suicide; Correlation analysis; Risk factor; Quality of life
• DOI: 10.1521/suli.33.3.242.23220
• EISSN: 1943-278X
• ISSN: 0363-0234

Shneidman (e.g., 1998) has theorized that psychache—general psychological and emotional pain that reaches intolerable intensity—is an important suicide‐related variable, and indeed, represents a source of suicidal behavior. This conceptualization, while prominent and clinically and intuitively appealing, has received relatively little empirical scrutiny. In this study, we determined whether an index closely related to psychache, psychological quality of life, would display a special and resilient association to suicidality among 60 adult psychiatric outpatients in Brazil. All patients underwent structured clinical interviews and completed various clinical and quality‐of‐life measures. We found that the association between psychological quality of life and suicidality remained, even when depression, hopelessness, and other domains of quality of life were controlled. Psychache appears to deserve its place among key suicide‐related variables, and deserves the attention of clinicians working with suicidal people.