title: Separate and interactive contributions of weak inhibitory control and threat sensitivity to prediction of suicide risk.
abstract: Biobehavioral dispositions can serve as valuable referents for biologically oriented research on core processes with relevance to many psychiatric conditions. The present study examined two such dispositional variables-weak response inhibition (or disinhibition; INH-) and threat sensitivity (or fearfulness; THT+)-as predictors of the serious transdiagnostic problem of suicide risk in two samples: male and female outpatients from a U.S. clinic (N=1078), and a population-based male military cohort from Finland (N=3855). INH- and THT+ were operationalized through scores on scale measures of disinhibition and fear/fearlessness, known to be related to DSM-defined clinical conditions and brain biomarkers. Suicide risk was assessed by clinician ratings (clinic sample) and questionnaires (both samples). Across samples and alternative suicide indices, INH- and THT+ each contributed uniquely to prediction of suicide risk-beyond internalizing and externalizing problems in the case of the clinic sample where diagnostic data were available. Further, in both samples, INH- and THT+ interactively predicted suicide risk, with individuals scoring concurrently high on both dispositions exhibiting markedly augmented risk. Findings demonstrate that dispositional constructs of INH- and THT+ are predictive of suicide risk, and hold potential as referents for biological research on suicidal behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA. Electronic address: venables@psy.fsu.edu.
authors.forename: Noah C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Venables
authors.affiliation: Research School of Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sellbom
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Child Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Andre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sourander
authors.affiliation: Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA; Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Kendler
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Joiner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Laura E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Drislane
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Lauri
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sillanmäki
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Elonheimo
authors.affiliation: Archipelago Sea Naval Command, Finnish Navy, Finland; University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Parkkola
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Petteri
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Multimaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Patrick
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D012306:Risk; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Disinhibition; Fear; Suicide; Threat sensitivity; Weak response inhibition