Expansion and Reevaluation of the Implicit Association Test in Suicide Ideators and Suicide Attempters

NCT04585802 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2019-01410
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 447
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

A new approach to investigate suicidal processes belongs to the broader neurocognitive picture and are so-called implicit associations. In dual process models of information processing a second functioning mode, the automatic processing mode, complements the conscious processing. Suicidal persons tend to have a stronger implicit association with "death" than non-suicidal persons. In this study, implicit associations between different unconscious cognitive constructs are compared among suicidal and non-suicidal patients. Therefore, an adapted version of the computer-based reaction time task (IAT-S) will be used. Four different versions of IATs are tested in this study. In the first version the implicit association between "self / others" and "death / life" is assessed (1). The second and third version measures the emotional evaluation of "death" (2) and "life" (3). In addition, in the fourth version the implicit association between death / life and internal / external locus of control is assessed (4). The implicit associations of these four IAT-S versions are compared between three groups: patients with suicidal behavior, patients with suicidal ideation, and a clinical group without previous suicide attempts and without suicidal ideation. The following hypotheses are made: in all four versions of the IAT-S, patients with previous suicidal behavior will have stronger implicit associations: between "self" and "death" as well as "death" and "internal locus of control" compared to all other groups. With a more "positive" evaluation of "death" and a more "negative" evaluation of "life" than all other participants.

Conditions

Suicidal Ideation; Suicide Attempt

Keywords

Implicit Association Test

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Implicit Association Test (IAT)

  The German version of the Suicide Implicit Association Test (Rath et al., 2018) is administered using a computer paradigm and is designed to measure implicit associations with death using D-values. D is an individual effect size assessment that reflects the comparative difficulty of performing the two response conditions of the IAT, with a value of 0 indicating that the tasks had equivalent performance (Greenwald et al., 2003). D has a theoretical minimum of -2 and maximum of +2 when blocks of the same size are compared (Nosek \& Sriram, 2007). The more positive the D-values, the stronger the association between the "self" and "death" than between the "self" and "life".

  One assessment at baseline after study information and informed consent was given

Secondary Outcomes (7)

• Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire - Revised

  One assessment at baseline after study information and informed consent was given

• Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS)

  One assessment at baseline after study information and informed consent was given

• Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II)

  One assessment at baseline after study information and informed consent was given

• Mee-Bunney Psychological Pain Assessment Scale (MBPPAS)

  One assessment at baseline after study information and informed consent was given

• Positive Mental Health Scale (PMH-scale)

  One assessment at baseline after study information and informed consent was given

Study Arms (4)

Suicide Attempters (1)

patients with a suicide attempt

Suicide Ideators (2)

patients with suicidal ideation

Clinical Control Group (3)

patients without suicide attempt and without suicide ideation

Healthy Control Group (4)

persons without suicide attempt and without suicide ideation, who do not have a psychiatric disorder

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients from the University Hospital of Psychiatry

You may qualify if:

• Age 18-65 years
• Ability and willingness to participate in the study
• Ability to give consent

You may not qualify if:

• Foreign language
• Diagnostic criteria: Psychoses, strong cognitive impairments (e.g. dementia)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Bern: lead
• University Hospital of Psychiatry, Department Neuropsychopharmacology and Brain Imaging: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern

Bern, 3008, Switzerland

Location

Related Publications (14)

• Nock MK, Park JM, Finn CT, Deliberto TL, Dour HJ, Banaji MR. Measuring the suicidal mind: implicit cognition predicts suicidal behavior. Psychol Sci. 2010 Apr;21(4):511-7. doi: 10.1177/0956797610364762. Epub 2010 Mar 9.

  PMID: 20424092 BACKGROUND

• Pearce CM, Martin G. Locus of control as an indicator of risk for suicidal behaviour among adolescents. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1993 Dec;88(6):409-14. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1993.tb03482.x.

  PMID: 8310847 BACKGROUND

• Rath D, Hallensleben N, Glaesmer H, Spangenberg L, Strauss M, Kersting A, Teismann T, Forkmann T. [Implicit Associations with Death: First Validation of the German Version of the Suicide Implicit Association Test (Suicide IAT)]. Psychother Psychosom Med Psychol. 2018 Mar;68(3-4):109-117. doi: 10.1055/s-0043-105070. Epub 2017 Jun 29. German.

  PMID: 28718868 BACKGROUND

• Everall, RD, Altrows, KJ, Paulson, BL. Creating a Future: A Study of Resilience in Suicidal Female Adolescents. Journal of Counseling & Development. 2006; 84(4): 461-470.

  BACKGROUND

• Osman A, Bagge CL, Gutierrez PM, Konick LC, Kopper BA, Barrios FX. The Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R): validation with clinical and nonclinical samples. Assessment. 2001 Dec;8(4):443-54. doi: 10.1177/107319110100800409.

  PMID: 11785588 BACKGROUND

• Beck AT, Steer RA, Ball R, Ranieri W. Comparison of Beck Depression Inventories -IA and -II in psychiatric outpatients. J Pers Assess. 1996 Dec;67(3):588-97. doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa6703_13.

  PMID: 8991972 BACKGROUND

• Beck AT, Steer RA. BSI, Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation. Psychological Corporation. 1993.

  BACKGROUND

• Kliem S, Brähler E. Beck-Hoffnungslosigkeits-Skala. Deutsche Fassung. Göttingen:Hogrefe. 2016.

  BACKGROUND

• Mee S, Bunney BG, Bunney WE, Hetrick W, Potkin SG, Reist C. Assessment of psychological pain in major depressive episodes. J Psychiatr Res. 2011 Nov;45(11):1504-10. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2011.06.011. Epub 2011 Aug 9.

  PMID: 21831397 BACKGROUND

• Lukat J, Margraf J, Lutz R, van der Veld WM, Becker ES. Psychometric properties of the Positive Mental Health Scale (PMH-scale). BMC Psychol. 2016 Feb 10;4:8. doi: 10.1186/s40359-016-0111-x.

  PMID: 26865173 BACKGROUND

• Kemper CJ, Beierlein C, Kovaleva A, Rammstedt B. Eine Kurzskala zur Messung von Kontrollüberzeugung: Die Skala lnternale-Externale Kontrollüberzeugung-4 (IE-4). GESIS Working Papers.2012; 2(19).

  BACKGROUND

• Sheehan DV, Lecrubier Y, Sheehan KH, Amorim P, Janavs J, Weiller E, Hergueta T, Baker R, Dunbar GC. The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.): the development and validation of a structured diagnostic psychiatric interview for DSM-IV and ICD-10. J Clin Psychiatry. 1998;59 Suppl 20:22-33;quiz 34-57.

  PMID: 9881538 BACKGROUND

• Nosek BA, Sriram N. Faulty assumptions: A comment on Blanton, Jaccard, Gonzales, and Christie (2006). J Exp Soc Psychol. 2007 May;43(3):393-398. doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2006.10.018.

  PMID: 18438456 BACKGROUND

• Greenwald AG, Nosek BA, Banaji MR. Understanding and using the implicit association test: I. An improved scoring algorithm. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2003 Aug;85(2):197-216. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.197.

  PMID: 12916565 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Suicidal Ideation; Suicide, Attempted

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Suicide; Self-Injurious Behavior; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Study Officials

• Anja C. Gysin-Maillart, PD

  University of Bern

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: CASE CONTROL
• Time Perspective: CROSS SECTIONAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 23, 2020
• First Posted: October 14, 2020
• Study Start: May 27, 2020
• Primary Completion: November 26, 2024
• Study Completion: November 26, 2024
• Last Updated: July 18, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CH (1)