Hopelessness Predicts Suicide

The Beck Scale and Other Risk Factors of Suicidal Intentions

Jan 24, 2009

Studies have shown that hopelessness is a significant predictor of suicide. Find out more to help your patients or loved ones.

The Beck Hopelessness Scale is a 20-item self-report inventory developed by Dr. Aaron Beck. It is designed to measure three major aspects of hopelessness: feelings about the future, loss of motivation, and expectations. The test is designed for adults aged 17 – 80.

Individuals completing the scale are asked to answer the questionnaire based on their attitudes during the preceding week. It may be administered in written or oral form, and each item is scored with a true/false. Total scores range from 0-20 with higher scores indicating a greater degree of hopelessness.

Beck’s cognitive model of depression focuses on a “cognitive triad” which includes negative thoughts about self, the world/environment, and the future. Hopelessness is the experience of despair or extreme pessimism about the future. As such, hopelessness is part of the “cognitive triad” of depression, but it also plays an important role in predicting suicide.

Hopelessness Predicts Suicide

Published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a study of 1,958 outpatients found that hopelessness, as measured by the Beck Hopelessness Scale, was significantly related to eventual suicide. A scale cutoff score of 9 or above identified 16 of the 17 patients who eventually committed suicide, thus replicating a previous study with hospitalized patients. The high-risk group identified by this cutoff score was 11 times more likely to commit suicide than the rest of the outpatients. The Beck Hopelessness Scale, thus, may be used as a sensitive indicator of suicide potential.

For Clinicians

As with all assessments, this one is not 100% accurate. However, it has statistic significance as a positive indicator of suicide. Used in a clinical setting, this scale remains helpful for identifying truly suicidal individuals.

For the Public

If you are suicidal, seek professional help immediately. You can start by calling the national suicide hotline at 1-800-SUICIDE. If you are worried that someone you care about is suicidal, encourage them to get professional help. Do not try to take on this burden all by yourself. You can be there to support, encourage, show them you care, and find ways to help the person start experiencing hope once again. Because studies have shown that hopelessness is an important indicator of potential suicide, helping all the people in your life have hope will be beneficial.

Other Factors and Predictors of Suicide

Learning about other suicide factors and predictors is especially important if you work in the mental health field, have children, work with teenagers or elderly, or have friends or family who have had psychiatric issues before. The more knowledge you have, the better you can support people.

Always remember, if someone in your life does commit suicide -- it is not your fault. You will hear that a thousand times, but it doesn't matter how many times you hear it. You need to believe it.

Suicide touches everyone in some way. By learning how hopelessness predicts suicide, you may be able to instill more hope in the people around you. Even if they are not at risk for committing suicide, helping others to feel hope about the future will leave both of you feeling better.

Beck, A.T., Brown, G., Berchick, RJ., Steward, B.L., & Steer, R.A. (1990). Relationship between hopelessness and ultimate suicide: a replication of psychiatric outpatients, American Journal of Psychiatry, 147, 190-195.

The copyright of the article Hopelessness Predicts Suicide in Suicide is owned by Angela Wilson. Permission to republish Hopelessness Predicts Suicide in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.