Evaluation of a Functional Model of Acquired Capability for Suicide in a Nationwide Sample of Korean Adults

The mediating role of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in the relationship between childhood trauma and suicidality among adolescents: a structural equation model

BACKGROUND

The objective of this study is to investigate the direct and indirect effects of childhood trauma, internalizing symptoms, and externalizing symptoms on suicidality among adolescents, thereby establishing a structural equation model.

METHODS

The present study uses a cross-sectional descriptive design. Among 147 adolescents aged 12-17, 93 outpatients diagnosed with major depressive disorder and 54 controls were included in the study. They completed the Early Trauma Inventory Self-Report (Short Form) and Columbia Suicidality Severity Rating Scale. Their parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist. Analyses were performed using Pearson's correlation and structural equation modelling.

RESULTS

Childhood trauma had both direct and indirect effects, via internalizing symptoms and externalizing symptoms, on suicidality. Internalizing symptoms had a direct effect on suicidality. Meanwhile, externalizing symptoms were not directly associated with suicidality, but indirectly associated via internalizing symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings provide in-depth understanding of the mediating role of internalizing symptoms and externalizing symptoms in the relationship between childhood trauma and suicidality, suggesting that the therapeutic interventions for both internalizing symptoms and externalizing symptoms may be important to prevent suicide in adolescents with childhood trauma.

Association of Prefrontal Cortex Thinning with High Impulsivity in Healthy Adults

OBJECTIVE

Studies have been conducted to identify brain structural alterations related to high impulsivity in psychiatric populations. However, research on healthy subjects is relatively less extensive. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the correlation between the cortical thickness of whole brain regions and the impulsivity level in a healthy population.

METHODS

We included 100 healthy participants aged 19-65 years. Their T1-weighted magnetic resonance images and the 23-item Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) score were obtained. The patients were divided into high and low impulsivity groups according to the 75th percentile score of the BIS in the sample. The thickness of each cortical region was calculated using the FreeSurfer, and the difference in cortical thickness of the whole brain between the high and low impulsivity groups was analyzed using one-way analysis of covariance including age, sex, education level, and total intracranial cavity volume as covariates.

RESULTS

The high impulsivity group showed significant cortical thinning in the left pars opercularis. The cortical thickness of the left pars opercularis significantly correlated negatively with the total, attention, and motor scores of the BIS scale.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that prefrontal cortex thinning may play an important role in the development of high impulsivity in healthy adults.