May 17, 2018 Publications
Personality and suicidal behavior in old age: a systematic literature review
Suicide rates generally peak in the second half of life and are particularly high in older men; however, little is known about the contribution of dispositional factors to late-life suicide. Maladaptive personality traits have been strongly implicated in suicide among younger adults, but the extent to which they continue to play a role in late-life suicidal behavior is unclear. We also do not know whether specific personality profiles interact with the stressors of aging to cause suicidal behavior...
April, 2020 Publications
Personality of late‐and early‐onset elderly suicide attempters
While suicidal behavior often manifests in adolescence and early adulthood, some people first attempt suicide in late life, often with remarkable lethal intent and determination. Given these individuals' more adaptive functioning earlier in life, they may possess traits that hinder adjustment to aging, such as high conscientiousness, rather than impulsive‐aggressive traits associated with suicidal behavior in younger adults...
February 15, 2019 Publications
Familial and social transmission of suicidal behavior in older adults
Both biological and social mechanisms have been implicated in the transmission of suicidal behavior in younger and middle-aged adults. Yet, while suicide rates rise with age, it is not clear whether such mechanisms operate in late life. Thus, we looked for evidence of social and familial suicidal transmission in elderly with late- vs. early-onset suicidal behavior by examining exposure to suicidal behavior within biological relatives and broader social networks...
December 3, 2020 Publications
Status, rivalry and admiration-seeking in narcissism and depression: A behavioral study
Humans seek admiration to boost their social rank and engage in rivalry to protect it when fearing defeat. Traits such as narcissism and affective states such as depression are thought to influence perception of rank and motivation for dominance in opposite ways, but evidence of the underlying behavioral mechanisms is scant. We investigated the effects of dimensionally-assessed narcissism and depression on behavioral responses to social defeat in a rigged video game tournament designed to elicit rivalry (stealing points from opponents) and admiration-seeking (paying for rank). We tested an undergraduate sample (N = 70, mean age = 21.5 years) and a clinical sample of predominantly depressed elderly (N = 85, mean age = 62.6 years)...
April 1, 2021 Publications
A lifetime of challenges: real-life decision outcomes in early-and late-onset suicide attempters
People who have attempted suicide display suboptimal decision-making in the lab. Yet, it remains unclear whether these difficulties tie in with other detrimental outcomes in their lives besides suicidal behavior. We hypothesize that this is more likely the case for individuals who first attempted suicide earlier than later in life...