From an evolutionary-psychological perspective, it has been argued that a sense of burdensomeness toward kin may erode self-preservational motives, which in turn, fosters suicidality. We reasoned that if this were so, perceived burdensomeness should specifically characterize those who complete suicide, even as compared to those who attempt suicide, whereas other dimensions (e.g., hopelessness, emotional pain) may not differentiate completers from attempters. Moreover, we predicted that perceived burdensomeness may be related to more lethal means of suicide among those who complete suicide. Two samples of suicide notes were rated on dimensions of burdensomeness, desire to control one's own feelings, desire to control others, emotional pain, and hopelessness. Perceived burdensomeness significantly correlated with completer status and with more lethal means of suicide, even controlling for other relevant dimensions. The other dimensions, in contrast, did not significantly correlate with suicide completion or with lethality of method. The possibility that perceived burdensomeness is a relatively specific feature of completed suicide deserves continued study. Durkheim (1897) reified the notion of altruistically motivated suicide (i.e., self-sacrifice for the greater good among those deeply connected to 531

The combination of acculturative stress and body dissatisfaction may render minority women more vulnerable to bulimic symptoms; the absence of acculturative stress among minority women may buffer them against bulimic symptoms, even in the presence of body dissatisfaction.

The hypothesis that perfectionism, body dissatisfaction, and self-esteem interact to predict bulimic symptom development was tested. This study replicates and extends previous findings (Vohs, Bardone, Joiner, Abramson, & Heatherton, 1999) demonstrating that the joint operation of perfectionism, perceived overweight status, and low self-esteem accounts, at least in part, for bulimic symptom development. Within the context of a longitudinal design, the current study, which used different measurement approaches and operationalizations than Vohs and colleagues, provided strong support for the model's ability to predict bulimic symptom 476

The goal of this study was to “unpack” the “generic” cognitive vulnerability employed in the retrospective behavioral high-risk design of Alloy and colleagues (2000), one of the major publications emanating from the Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression (CAD) Project to date. To this end, we used a retrospective behavioral high-risk design with a new sample of unselected undergraduates and examined the unique association between lifetime history of clinically significant depression as well as other Axis I disorders (e.g., anxiety disorders, substance abuse disorders) and both dysfunctional attitudes (DAS, featured in Beck’s theory) and negative cognitive styles (CSQ, featured in hopelessness theory). We present results supporting the cognitive vulnerability factor featured in the hopelessness theory and the construct validity of the CSQ. Negative cognitive styles were more strongly and consistently associated with lifetime history of Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) major depression and hopelessness depression than were dysfunctional attitudes. These results suggest that negative cognitive styles, as assessed by the CSQ, were a potent component of the “generic” cognitive vulnerability effect in Alloy and associates’ (2000) retrospective behavioral high-risk design. Interestingly, negative cognitive styles also were significantly associated with a participant having had a past RDC anxiety diagnosis. Thus, consistent with past research, our results suggest that negative cognitive styles and dysfunctional attitudes are distinct constructs as measured by the CSQ and DAS, respectively. Of further interest, gender differences in depression were obtained with college women in our study exhibiting significantly greater lifetime history of RDC major depression than college men.

Results from studies using a behavioral high-risk design and approximations to it generally have corroborated the cognitive vulnerability hypothesis of depression, whereas results from remitted depression studies typically have not. Suspecting that design features of previously conducted remitted designs likely precluded them from detecting maladaptive cognitive patterns, the authors conducted a study featuring the remitted design that has been successful in studies of a biological vulnerability for depression. Participants' current depressive symptoms, negative cognitive styles (hopelessness theory), dysfunctional attitudes (Beck's theory), and lifetime prevalence of clinically significant depression were assessed. Participants who had remitted from an episode of clinically significant depression had more negative cognitive styles, but not greater levels of dysfunctional attitudes, than did never depressed individuals.