title: A cognitive understanding of adolescent suicide.
abstract: Suicide ultimately requires a decision. In this article, I review a number of cognitive concepts--decision making, the development of a suicide schemata, covert rehearsal, cognitive rigidity, and time perspective--and I propose a model suggesting that suicide can be understood as an essentially cognitive act affected by these elements. The model highlights the importance of distortions of time perspective as a precursor for suicidal behavior. I propose this model as an additional set of explanatory factors to those commonly in use, such as family and peer estrangement and life events.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Science, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Lennings
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition; D003657:Decision Making; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*