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Bipolar Disorder and Suicide

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 8008

Special Issue Editors

Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health & Education , Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M15 6GX, UK
Interests: suicide; bipolar disorder; social norms; mental health; health psychology
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK
Interests: the psychological mechanisms underlying mood dysregulation, particularly in mania risk and bipolar disorder

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Living with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder can be associated with a heightened risk of suicide, with rates twenty to thirty times higher than the general population and the highest rates compared to other mental health diagnoses (da Silva Costa, 2015). Compared to other groups, there remains a relative lack of understanding of the experience of suicide amongst people living with a bipolar diagnosis, especially the experiences and factors unique to bipolar disorder which are implicated in suicidality. Whilst there is a heightened risk of suicide associated with a bipolar disorder diagnosis, the majority of people living with bipolar disorder do not die by suicide, and so, understanding the protective and resilience-conferring factors which reduce risk is crucial for effective support and developing appropriate interventional strategies.

Research articles and reviews which further our understanding of the risk factors and experience of suicidality when living with bipolar disorder are welcomed for this Special Issue. Submissions from a variety of perspectives are encouraged, including but not limited to studies led by or co-produced with people with lived experience, qualitative and quantitative studies, replication studies, studies testing theoretical models of suicide, interventions, public health studies, studies on the psychological pathways to suicide, and studies investigating resilience or protective factors.

Dr. Robert Dempsey
Dr. Alyson Dodd
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • bipolar disorder
  • suicide
  • risk
  • resilience
  • self-harm
  • lived experience

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 367 KiB  
Article
Caring for a Family Member with Psychosis or Bipolar Disorder Who Has Experienced Suicidal Behaviour: An Exploratory Qualitative Study of an Online Peer-Support Forum
by Paul Marshall, Steven Jones, Patricia Gooding, Heather Robinson and Fiona Lobban
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(22), 15192; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph192215192 - 17 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1693
Abstract
Background. The likelihood of suicidal behaviour is elevated amongst people with psychosis or bipolar disorder. This study aimed to understand how carers experience supporting family members with psychosis or bipolar disorder who have also experienced suicidal behaviour. Methods. A qualitative thematic analysis of [...] Read more.
Background. The likelihood of suicidal behaviour is elevated amongst people with psychosis or bipolar disorder. This study aimed to understand how carers experience supporting family members with psychosis or bipolar disorder who have also experienced suicidal behaviour. Methods. A qualitative thematic analysis of online peer forum posts was carried out on the Relatives Education and Coping Toolkit (REACT) website, an online intervention for carers of people with psychosis and bipolar disorder. Analysis was based on 178 posts by 29 forum users. Posts were selected based on their relevance to suicidal behaviour. Results. Three themes were generated. “Suicide as the ultimate threat” highlights fears emerging from carers’ difficulties with understanding and managing suicidal behaviour. “Bouncing from one crisis to another” reflects carers’ experiences of recurring crises and the challenges of relying on emergency healthcare support. “It definitely needs to be easier to get help” emphasises carers’ desires to be acknowledged by healthcare professionals and included in support offered to service users. Conclusions. Digital platforms, including online forums, brief interventions such as safety planning, and interagency crisis models, hold the potential to meet carers’ needs in this context. However, further research is required to investigate the effectiveness and implementation of these approaches. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bipolar Disorder and Suicide)
10 pages, 347 KiB  
Article
Directly or Indirectly? The Role of Social Support in the Psychological Pathways Underlying Suicidal Ideation in People with Bipolar Disorder
by Rebecca Owen, Steven H. Jones, Robert C. Dempsey and Patricia A. Gooding
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5286; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph19095286 - 26 Apr 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1985
Abstract
Contemporary theories of suicide, such as the Schematic Appraisals Model (SAMS), hypothesize that negative perceptions of social support are implicated in the pathways to suicidal experiences. The SAMS predicts that perceived social support influences suicidal ideation through appraisals of defeat and entrapment. However, [...] Read more.
Contemporary theories of suicide, such as the Schematic Appraisals Model (SAMS), hypothesize that negative perceptions of social support are implicated in the pathways to suicidal experiences. The SAMS predicts that perceived social support influences suicidal ideation through appraisals of defeat and entrapment. However, such pathways have not been investigated in people who have bipolar disorder. This prospective four-month study tested the influence of perceived social support on later suicidal ideation via changes in defeat, entrapment, and hopelessness, in a sample of eighty euthymic participants with bipolar disorder (N = 62 at follow-up). Linear regression models tested the extent to which perceived social support at baseline predicted changes in suicidal ideation at four months directly and indirectly via changes in defeat, entrapment, and hopelessness. Perceived social support did not directly predict changes in suicidal ideation, but there was a significant indirect mediational pathway between perceived social support at baseline and changes in suicidal ideation over time, via changes in defeat, entrapment and hopelessness, supporting the SAMS. Psychological interventions which target negative perceptions of social support early, in tandem with addressing defeat, entrapment, and hopelessness over time, present a potentially effective approach to counter suicidal ideation in people who experience bipolar disorder. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bipolar Disorder and Suicide)

Other

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6 pages, 295 KiB  
Commentary
Testosterone and Suicidal Behavior in Bipolar Disorder
by Leo Sher
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 2502; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph20032502 - 31 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3086
Abstract
Bipolar disorder is associated with suicidal behavior. The risk of suicide for individuals with bipolar disorder is up to 20–30 times larger than that of the general population. Considerable evidence suggests that testosterone may play a role in the pathophysiology of suicidal behavior [...] Read more.
Bipolar disorder is associated with suicidal behavior. The risk of suicide for individuals with bipolar disorder is up to 20–30 times larger than that of the general population. Considerable evidence suggests that testosterone may play a role in the pathophysiology of suicidal behavior in both men and women with bipolar disorder and other psychiatric conditions. Testosterone has complex effects on psychological traits. It affects mood and behavior, including interactions with other people. Testosterone regulates pro-active and re-active aspects of aggression. Probably, both high and low levels of testosterone may contribute to the neurobiology of suicide in various patient populations. The effects of endogenous and exogenous testosterone on suicidality in patients with bipolar disorder need further investigation. The aim of this commentary article is to provide a commentary on the author’s work on the topic, summarize the literature on testosterone, bipolar disorder, and suicide, and encourage future research on this poorly studied topic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bipolar Disorder and Suicide)
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