Citation

Beck AT, Brown G, Berchick RJ, Stewart BL, Steer RA. Am. J. Psychiatry 1990; 147(2): 190-195.

Affiliation

Center for Cognitive Therapy, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia 19104.

Comment In:

Am J Psychiatry 1990;147(11):1577-8.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1990, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

2278535

Abstract

A prospective study of 1,958 outpatients found that hopelessness, as measured by the Beck Hopelessness Scale, was significantly related to eventual suicide. A scale cutoff score of 9 or above identified 16 (94.2%) of the 17 patients who eventually committed suicide, thus replicating a previous study with hospitalized patients. The high-risk group identified by this cutoff score was 11 times more likely to commit suicide than the rest of the outpatients. The Beck Hopelessness Scale thus may be used as a sensitive indicator of suicide potential.

Language: en