Table 4.
Studies on mental pain and suicide in samples of special populations.
| Study | Title | Aim | Sample information | Measure of mental pain | Measure of suicide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coohey et al. (52) | Sources of psychological pain and suicidal thoughts among homeless adults | To assess the association between several sources of psychological pain (i.e., drug problems, family relationship problems, social problems, psychiatric problems, past emotional abuse, past physical abuse, and past sexual abuse) and suicidal thoughts | Sample size: 457 homeless adults Mean age: 38.7 years (SD = NA) Female: 62% |
ASI questions on sources of psychological pain | ASI questions about current suicidal thoughts and past suicide attempts |
| Mills et al. (50) | An evaluation of the Psychache Scale on an offender population | To test the hypothesis that the Psychache Scale is more strongly related to suicide indicators than measures of either depression or hopelessness in an offender population | Sample size: 136 inmates of a medium security prison Mean age: 38.0 (SD = 11.0) years Female: 0% |
PAS | DHS |
| Patterson et al. (53) | Psychache and suicide ideation among men who Are homeless: a test of Shneidman’s model | To evaluate psychache as a stronger predictor of suicide among homeless | Sample size: 97 homeless Mean age: 46.58 (SD = 11.97) years Female: 0% |
PAS | BSS Questions about history of a previous suicide attempt and the lifetime number of suicide attempts |
| Pereira et al. (51) | Testing Shneidman’s model of suicidality in incarcerated offenders and in undergraduates | To evaluate psychache as a stronger predictor of suicide among offenders and undergraduates | Sample size: 233 participants divided into three groups; G1, incarcerated offenders (73); G2, male undergraduate students (80); G3, female undergraduate students (80) Mean age: G1 = 44.89 (SD = 9.94) years, G2 = 19.04 (SD = 1.62) years, G3 = 19.55 (SD = 1.63) years Female: G1 = 0%, G2 = 0%, G3 = 100% |
PAS | DHS |
| Shelef et al. (54) | Emotional regulation of mental pain as moderator of suicidal ideation in military settings | To examine how mental pain and emotional regulation of mental pain contribute to suicide ideation. Additionally, it explores whether emotional regulation of mental pain moderates the relationship between mental pain and suicide ideation. | Sample size: 168 soldiers divided into three groups; G1, soldiers attempted suicide (58); G2, soldiers psychologically treated without a history of suicide attempt (58); G3 soldiers control group (50) Mean age: total sample 19.7 (SD = 1) years, data for single groups NA Female: total sample = 40.5%, G1 = 38.0%, G2 = 39.7%, G3 = 42.0% |
OMMP TMPS |
SSI |
NA, not available; G1, Group 1; G2, Group 2; G3, Group 3.
ASI, Addiction Severity Index; BSS, Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation; DHS, Depression, Hopelessness and Suicide Screening Form; OMMP, Orbach and Mikulincer Mental Pain Scale; PAS, Psychache Scale; SSI, Scale for Suicide Ideation; TMPS, Tolerance for Mental Pain Scale.