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ObjectiveRecent theories of suicide suggest that a construct called “capability for suicide” facilitates the progression from suicidal thoughts to attempts. Various measures of capability have been developed to assess different parts of the construct, but studies report inconsistent findings regarding reliability, validity, and structure. The present study pooled items from multiple measures to identify distinct, reliable, and valid domains of suicide capability.MethodWe administered items from several suicide capability measures to an online sample of US adults (n = 387), and utilized exploratory factor analysis to identify distinct domains of capability. We then examined the internal consistencies of and intercorrelations among these domains, as well as their associations with suicide attempts.ResultsFindings identified three domains of suicide capability: fearlessness about death, practical capability, and pain tolerance. These domains were internally consistent (αs = 0.80–0.92), and relatively independent from one another (intercorrelations = 0.15–0.35). Finally, each of these domains was moderately elevated among attempters compared to ideators (although only fearlessness about death and practical capability offered unique information about attempter status).ConclusionsFindings suggest that fearlessness about death, practical capability, and pain tolerance can be measured reliably, and may be relevant for understanding which ideators make attempts.

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Objective We examine the relationships of eight eating disorder (ED) features to histories of suicide ideation and suicide attempts. Method Participants were 387 adults (62% female, mean age = 36 years) recruited via an online platform, and oversampled for the presence of ED features, who completed standardized self‐report measures of study variables. Results Different ED features predicted suicide ideation versus attempts. Specifically, Restrictive Eating (d = 0.44), Purging (d = 0.30), and Body Dissatisfaction (d = 0.27) were higher among ideators compared to nonsuicidal participants. In contrast, Muscle Building (d = 0.31), Excessive Exercise (d = 0.26), Cognitive Restraint (d = 0.23), and Restrictive Eating (d = 0.20) were higher among attempters compared to ideators—however, we note that the p‐values for these effects range between 0.02 and 0.04 and it is unclear if they would replicate. Independent replication is important. Conclusion Findings have implications for the conceptualization of suicide risk in individuals with EDs.

Introduction: Time perspective orientation (TPO) refers to the way an individual psychologically and behaviorally connects to temporal concepts of past, present, and future. Previous studies have hypothesized that certain types of time perspectives, such as a negative orientation towards the past, predict negative psychological functioning and outcomes, including suicide risk. The current study examines whether differences in TPOs are linked to suicidal thoughts or suicidal acts using two measures of time perspective. Methods: We recruited a large online U.S.-based sample comprised of three groups: participants with (a) a history of suicide attempts (attempters; n = 107), (b) a history of suicide ideation but no history of attempts (ideators; n = 164), and (c) no history of ideation or attempts (nonsuicidal; n = 194). Results: A Positive Past (d = 0.71) and Negative Past (d = 0.89) orientation yielded large differences between individuals with a history of suicide ideation and nonsuicidal participants, where Positive Past was elevated among nonsuicidal participants and Negative Past among ideators. These differences were not accounted for by depression or anxiety. However, TPO differences between individuals with a history of suicide ideation and individuals with a history of attempts ranged from negligible to small (d range = 0.03-0.33). Discussion: The findings suggest that time perspective may be robustly associated with the development of suicide ideation, but only minimally related to suicide attempts among ideators.