Dichotomous thinking and its relation to suicidal ideation and the perception of stress.

The present study was undertaken to look at the effect of dichotomous thinking and irrational beliefs on the perception of stress and subsequent suicidal ideation. 236 college students were given measures involving distorted cognitions, two different measures of stress, depression, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation. It was expected that distorted cognitions would be related to extreme ratings of stress. Therefore, this would provide a possible explanation for the interaction of distorted cognitions and stress and how this could lead to suicidal ideation in some individuals. It was also hypothesized that dichotomous thinking and irrational beliefs would show some correlation and support the construct validity of the Rational Behaviors Inventory as a measure of dichotomous thinking. In addition, it was desired to compare major life events versus hassles in accounting for suicidal ideation. Multiple regression analyses revealed that hopelessness, depression, and extreme negative thinking accounted for the most variance in suicidal ideation scores. Results are discussed suggesting that positive and negative extreme thinking contribute at different states in the suicidal process.Dept. of Psychology. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1993 .S64. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 32-06, page: 1703. Adviser: Michael Kral. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1993