The general public is increasingly aware of the role of genes in causing depression. Recent studies have begun uncovering unintended negative consequences of learning about a person's genetic susceptibility to disorders. Because people tend to believe that genes determine one's identity, having genes related to a disorder can be misinterpreted as equivalent to having the disorder. Consequently, learning that a person is genetically predisposed to depression can make people misremember mild depression as more severe. Participants across three experiments read a target vignette about a character displaying mild depressive symptoms, while descriptions of the character's genetic susceptibility to depression were experimentally manipulated. Participants then read a foil vignette describing a character with more severe depressive symptoms. Afterwards, participants who had learned that the target character was genetically predisposed to depression were comparatively more likely to misremember the target symptoms as being severe, when in fact they were mild. This pattern of results was obtained among both laypeople (Experiments 1 and 2) and practicing master's-level, but not doctoral-level, mental health clinicians (Experiment 3). Given that depression is diagnosed primarily based on a person's memory of depressive symptoms, the current findings suggest that genetic information about depression may lead to over-diagnosis of depression.
BackgroundSuicide is a major public health crisis among youth. Several prominent theories, including the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS), aim to characterize the factors leading from suicide ideation to action. These theories are largely based on findings in adults and require testing and elaboration in adolescents.MethodsData were examined from high‐risk 13–18‐year‐old adolescents (N = 167) participating in a multi‐wave, longitudinal study; 63% of the sample exhibited current suicidal thoughts or recent behaviors (n = 105). The study included a 6‐month follow‐up period with clinical interviews and self‐report measures at each of the four assessments as well as weekly smartphone‐based assessments of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Regression and structural equation models were used to probe hypotheses related to the core tenets of the IPTS.ResultsFeelings of perceived burdensomeness were associated with more severe self‐reported suicidal ideation (b = 0.58, t(158) = 7.64, p < .001). Similarly, burdensomeness was associated with more frequent ideation based on weekly smartphone ratings (b = 0.11, t(1460) = 3.41, p < .001). Contrary to IPTS hypotheses, neither feelings of thwarted belongingness, nor interactions between burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness were significantly associated with ideation (ps > .05). Only elevated depression severity was associated with greater odds of suicide events (i.e., suicide attempts, psychiatric hospitalizations, and/or emergency department visits for suicide concerns) during the follow‐up period (OR = 1.83, t(158) = 2.44, p = .01). No effect of acquired capability was found.ConclusionsPerceptions of burdensomeness to others reflect a critical risk factor for suicidal ideation among high‐risk adolescents. Null findings with other IPTS constructs may suggest a need to adopt more developmentally sensitive models or measures of interpersonal and acquired capability risk factors for youth. Refining methods and theoretical models of suicide risk may help improve the identification of high‐risk cases and inform clinical intervention.
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